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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: 

  1. Growth intent (e.g., % change of new job postings on LinkedIn, Indeed and Glassdoor)
  2. Employee count (12 months % growth rate)
  3. Web traffic (12 months Alexa rank % change)

    4. 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:

    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.

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