Enterprise IT managed services organization DSP, backed by private equity firm YFM, has acquired Oracle consulting firm Explorer UK for an undisclosed sum.
This is M&A deal 320 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2020. See the full M&A deal list here.
Based in Leeds, Explorer is an Oracle Platinum Partner with roughly 50 employees. The acquisition will broaden DSP’s existing data infrastructure capabilities, allowing the company to provide a wider range of consultancy and managed service offerings, DSP said.
DSP, founded in 1999, has roughly 40 employees in London, Nottingham, and Basingstoke. DSP is an enterprise data and managed services provider (MSP) specializing in Oracle, Microsoft, and cloud technologies.
DSP’s Explorer UK Acquisition: A Growth Path
YFM Equity Partners backed a £10 million (US$11.8 million) management buyout of DSP in August 2018. Moreover, YFM invested £5.3 million (US$6.27 million) in the MBO with capital in that deal provided by Santander Growth Finance.
DSP since that time has doubled its profitability and grown its contract base by 300 percent, according to its own numbers.
Explorer founder Ian Thomason joins DSP Group's board, with Simon Goodenough becoming Group CEO, the company announced. The new combined group will continue to operate from DSP’s three offices and Explorer’s Leeds head office.
DSP's overall revenue will surpass £20 million (US$23.69 million). Profits will also rise substantively -- though actual figures weren't disclosed. The combined business plans to expand both organically and through more acquisitions.
DSP Acquires Explorer UK: Executive Commentary
Simon Goodenough, CEO of DSP, commented:
“Explorer’s pedigree as an award-winning provider of enterprise grade Oracle solutions addresses our need to offer clients a variety of options, from ultra-fast on-premise database infrastructures to highly secure, integrated cloud environments, all managed by our global managed services delivery team.”
Ian Thomason, managing director of Explorer, added:
“By combining two market leading specialists in their respective domains, we will accelerate our individual growth ambitions, resulting in a sum greater than its parts. As well as our shared and deep heritage with Oracle technology, customers from both organisations will benefit from capabilities spanning Microsoft Azure Services, APEX Development, Machine Learning and, of course, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. I am hugely excited by the next step we are all taking together.”
Eamon Nolan, partner at YFM, said:
“The acquisition gives the new group greater scale, more capacity for growth, the ability to compete for larger contracts and puts it in a strong position to take advantage of the huge opportunities available in the UK and globally. Since our investment two years ago, we have already seen impressive growth with profits doubling and its contract base trebling, and we expect to see further expansion, both through organic growth and acquisition.”
M&A activity involving Oracle cloud partners has been steady, according to ChannelE2E's ongoing market coverage.
