Thrive, backed by private equity firm Court Square Capital Partners, has acquired InCare Technologies -- an MSP (managed IT services provider) that supports healthcare, local governments, education, and other SMB businesses. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
This is technology M&A deal number 21 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2022. See more than 1,000 technology M&A deals for 2022, 2021 and 2020 listed here.
InCare is based in Birmingham, Alabama, with offices in Tennessee and Mississippi. The company has 61 employees listed on LinkedIn. The acquisition provides Thrive with "a strong regional provider in the South, enabling it to better deliver and support its managed cybersecurity, collaboration, and cloud services across the country," the buyer said.
Thrive has acquired more than a dozen MSPs, IT service providers and consulting firms since 2016. Other somewhat recent deals include buying Howard Tech Advisors, Apex IT Group, and ONI, among others.
Thrive Acquires InCare Technologies: Executive Perspectives
In a prepared statement about the latest acquisition, Thrive CEO Rob Stephenson said:
"InCare Technologies is one of the best-run MSPs that we've had the privilege of working with. Their operational maturity, management team, employee technical acumen and commitment to customer service make them the perfect partner for Thrive to anchor our Southern expansion. Thrive's ServiceNow platform, sophisticated 24x7x365 Security Operations Center (SOC) practice and Public, Private & Hybrid Cloud solutions will undoubtably benefit InCare's loyal clientele and attract future prospects within the region."
Added Brian Walker, CEO of InCare Technologies:
"Since our inception, InCare Technologies has been dedicated to helping our customers stay productive and secure as they look to streamline their IT operations. By partnering with Thrive, we'll advance that cause even further by improving the way we service our clients via advanced technologies, innovation and improved efficiencies. Our team has been impressed by Thrive's people, processes, and platform, but most importantly by their commitment to customer service and their own employees. This makes them a perfect match to continue our legacy and workplace culture as a leader in our market."
Thrive's Business Evolution and Private Equity Ownership
Private equity firm Court Square Capital Partners acquired Thrive in January 2021. Among the key areas of focus: Expanding the MSP into fast-growth areas such as ServiceNow, automation, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, Thrive said at the time.
Thrive's business journey proves that MSPs, under the right ownership and executive leadership, can scale from local IT support into national prominence. For Thrive, the business journey involved some mixed-performance years under Staples' former ownership. The turning acceleration point arrived around 2015, when Rob Stephenson began consulting for Thrive Networks under MetTel’s direction.
A Big Bang moment arrived in 2016, when M/C Partners acquired Thrive Networks and Corporate IT Solutions, and Stephenson was tapped to run the merged the businesses. Thrive then acquired multiple MSPs, before Court Square acquired the company in January 2021 to fuel the next round of national growth.
