Best MSP M&A Targets for Private Equity: The Data-Driven Clues -

Ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky once famously defined what made him such a great player: “I skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been.”

To help private equity firms skate to the proverbial “MSP Puck,” FOCUS Investment Banking’s Managed Service Provider (MSP) Team has created the first and only predictive “signal-driven” custom scoring of the top 1,138 MSP targets that appear on the most prominent industry lists (MSP 501, CRN 500, ChannelE2E Top 100 Vertical, Inc. 5000 – IT Management and/or Redmond Channel Partners, Microsoft’s Top 350).

Our proprietary algorithm looks for demonstrative organic growth “signals” that influence a company’s rank, including:

Growth intent (e.g., % change of new job postings on LinkedIn, Indeed and Glassdoor)

Employee count (12 months % growth rate)

Web traffic (12 months Alexa rank % change)

The onus is on modern dealmakers to differentiate themselves and position their firms for growth by conceiving “New School” approaches to help their clients find and create exceptional assets—and close deals.

FOCUS believes its research will shine a well-deserving light on MSP founders and CEOs (and their respective teams) and make it easier for them to access private equity capital to fuel even more growth.

Company List Overview

Announcing the “MSP Market Maker Unicorns” for 2022

FOCUS has risen to the occasion by creating a list of “MSP M&A Unicorns,” which it believes will provide outsized returns to MSP Founder/CEOs and their private equity investors by mining the predictive growth “signals” described above. Today we are announcing the “Second 50” Ranking for 2022:

MSP Market Maker Unicorns – “Second 50”

Ranking	Informal Name	City	State
51	Mytech Partners	Saint Paul	MN
52	Helion Technologies	Lutherville	MD
53	Integrated IT Solutions	Milford	MA
54	Applied Tech Solutions	Madison	WI
55	AT-NET Services	Charlotte	NC
56	Innovien Solutions	Atlanta	GA
57	Hub Technical Services	South Easton	MA
58	ComputerSupport	Chelmsford Center	MA
59	NENS	Lowell	MA
60	Merit Technologies	Greenville	SC
61	GRIT Technologies	Clinton Township	MI
62	Forthright Technology Partners	Hollywood	FL
63	Iuvo Technologies	Westford	MA
64	Lantium	Blue Bell	PA
65	E-N Computers	Waynesboro	VA
66	Netrix IT	Saint Paul	MN
67	ASi Networks	San Dimas	CA
68	ITPartners+	Grand Rapids	MI
69	Revel Technology	Houston	TX
70	Salvus TG	Lee's Summit	MO
71	Veracity Technologies	Hopkins	MN
72	Syand	Burnsville	MN
73	DLC Technology Solutions	Marlton	NJ
74	Bell Techlogix	Indianapolis	IN
75	Expedient	Pittsburgh	PA
76	Systems Engineering	Portland	ME
77	Cerium Networks	Spokane	WA
78	PEI	Boulder	CO
79	Safety Net	Traverse City	MI
80	IntegraONE	Allentown	PA
81	iCorps Technologies	Woburn	MA
82	Kinettix	Cincinnati	OH
83	Solutions II	Littleton	CO
84	TechMD	Santa Ana	CA
85	CyberlinkASP Technology	Dallas	TX
86	Envision Technology Advisors	Pawtucket	RI
87	Texas Systems Group	Austin	TX
88	Magnitech	Naperville	IL
89	Adopt Technologies	Phoenix	AZ
90	Method Technologies	Cypress	CA
91	VirtuIT Systems	Nanuet	NY
92	Vector Choice Technology Solutions	Duluth	GA
93	Radcomp Technologies	White Salmon	WA
94	PICS ITech	Mount Holly	NJ
95	Nerds Support	Miami	FL
96	A Couple Of Gurus	Minneapolis	MN
97	DEVsource	Murray	KY
98	Networking Technologies + Support	Midlothian	VA
99	PSM	Chicago	IL
100	Wheelhouse IT	Fort Lauderdale	FL

If you’re looking for the Top 50 unicorns, that list has been reserved for new FOCUS buy-side clients who are seeking:

New MSP Platforms in the $2.5MM-$20.0MM EBITDA Range, and
Add-on Acquisitions in the $500K-$10.0MM EBITDA Range

About the FOCUS MSP Team

In addition to pioneering the first and only predictive “signal-driven” custom scoring of the top 1,138 MSP targets, no investment bank has been more active or aggressive in serving the MSP market than FOCUS Investment Banking.

For example, FOCUS served as M&A advisor to five of the 10 MSP platforms that were established in 2020 and announced by ChannelE2E (see 2020 MSP & Technology M&A List).

Most recently we have served as catalyst for, and exclusive financial advisor on, MSP/MSSP transactions with 18 legendary MSP Founder/CEO/President references including: Tom Andrulis, Rashaad Bajwa, Kevin Blake, Willis Cantey, Steven Cariglio, Kevin Cook, Brian Desrosier, Jim Kennedy, Buddy Martin, Donald C. Monistere, Karl Muehlberger, Eric Noonan, Edward M Reade, David Robinson, Tony Schafer, Jake Spanberger, Mohit 'Mo' Vij and Mike Williams.

These deals resulted in nine MSPs becoming newly-minted PE-backed platforms, with five more currently under Letters of Intent.

For more information, please contact FOCUS Managing Director and MSP Team Leader Abe Garver at [email protected].

By Abe Garver, MSP team leader & managing director at FOCUS Investment Banking. Read more guest blogs from FOCUS here. Regularly contributed guest blogs are part of ChannelE2E’s sponsorship program.