Private equity, MSP, Content

Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker Invests In MSP Market

WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 26:  U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker speaks during a discussion on TPP September 26, 2016 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) hosted a discussion on “The Trans-Pacific Partnership: A Big Deal for America’s Small Exporters.”  (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty ...

Penny Pritzker, the former U.S. Secretary of Commerce, is opening her arms to the MSP market. Indeed, Pritzker's private equity firm, PSP Capital, has acquired Ntiva -- a major managed IT services provider that has expansive M&A experience. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

This is technology M&A deal number 125 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2022. See more than 1,000 technology M&A deals for 2022, 2021, and 2020 listed here.

PSP Partners Acquires Ntiva: Private Equity and MSP Details

PSP Partners, based in Chicago, is led by Pritzker, an entrepreneur, civic leader, philanthropist and former U.S. Secretary of Commerce. Ntiva, founded in 2004 by Steven Freidkin, has ranked among the Inc. 5000 list of Fastest Growing Companies in America seven times.

Ntiva previously was backed by private equity firm Southfield Capital since 2016. Armed with that backing, Ntiva acquired multiple MSPs in recent years -- including  Navakai of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Netlink Systems of New York; Apple technology service provider Forget Computers of Chicago; and Equilibrium IT Solutions, also of Chicago.

Roll all those businesses together, and Ntiva now offers managed security services, strategic consulting, cloud solutions, unified communications and other technology services. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

PSP Partners Acquires Ntiva: Executive Perspectives

In a prepared statement about the deal, Pritzker said:

“Our DNA for years has been to build durable, enduring businesses and that’s why we are incredibly pleased to announce our partnership with Steven and the Ntiva team. This is an innovative company with a fantastic management team made up of executives with deep domain expertise. Ntiva’s strong culture and values of providing world class technology and client service while creating jobs and economic opportunity is a perfect match for our firm.”

Steven Freidkin, CEO, Ntiva
Steven Freidkin, CEO, Ntiva

Added Freidkin:

“We are honored to partner with PSP Capital.  Not only are our core values and long-term vision aligned to build a best-in-class company, we are both deeply invested in creating meaningful jobs and opportunity throughout the country. Our mutual commitment to innovation, job creation, education and philanthropy is game changing. Ntiva’s platform is focused on accelerating growth through technology and that focus will be supercharged by this partnership, all while embracing a conscious commitment to social good.”

Concluded Troy Noard, managing director of PSP Capital:

“We are incredibly excited to partner with Ntiva, a leading provider of managed technology services and one that fits perfectly with our digital transformation investment thesis within the business and technology services sector. We are very bullish on the company’s future and look forward to working with Steven and the Ntiva team to build a broader platform through continued organic and inorganic growth.”

So what's next? No doubt, Ntiva is pursuing tuck-in MSP acquisitions. Stay tuned.

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.