Franklin Data has acquired Scarab Consulting, gaining a range of data hosting, eDiscovery and IT security expertise. Financial terms of the deal, finalized on November 1, were not disclosed.
Franklin Data, launched in 2000, provides the technology that helps business and legal customers respond to discovery demands, incident response and cyber security threats. The company has performed on-demand services for clients in more that 40 countries and has been trusted on some of the most notable matters.
Scarab Consulting, launched in 2000, initially offered legal technology services. The San Antonio-based company has made multiple acquisitions over the past decade or so -- including RLS Legal Solutions, LIT Group Inc., DigIT Technologies and World Document Solutions. The deals expanded the company across Texas and into Manhattan. Over the course of acquiring and expanding, Scarab raised private equity and debt financing in excess of $20 million, the company says.
Franklin Data Buys Scarab: Deal Synergies
Matthew Blake, president and CEO of Franklin Data, described the Scarab buyout synergies:
“This transaction will create a stronger provider of business discovery and digital security services for the customers of both Franklin Data and Scarab Consulting. Scarab has a dedicated and loyal team of professionals and clients developed over the past 16 years and our goal is to align the strengths of the companies and continue to improve workflows.
The deal apparently involves IT intellectual property. Scarab developed a proprietary workflow technology for discovery-related services, Franklin Data says. Scarab also was set to launch a security service called SecurityRenewed. That effort will now be integrated into Franklin Data's security initiatives.
eDiscovery M&A
Within the MSP and IT consulting market, multiple buyouts involving eDiscovery firms have surfaced in 2016. Key deals have included:
- Special Counsel acquired D4 around October 2016.
- Epiq Systems and DTI merged as part of a $1 billion deal funded by OMERS Private Equity and Harvest Partners LP in July 2016.
- Avalon Document Services and Digits merged in February 2016.
Track all VAR, MSP and CSP mergers and acquisitions by visiting the ChannelE2E Milestones section regularly.
