Ascend Acquires MSP and Security Business Unit From Stratosphere -

Ascend Technologies, backed by private equity firm M/C Partners, has acquired a managed IT and security services division from Stratosphere Networks. Meanwhile, Stratosphere Networks will retain its IT Project, Voice Services and Consulting business. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

This is technology M&A deal number 96 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2022. See more than 1,000 technology M&A deals for 2022, 2021 and 2020 listed here.

Ascend Acquires MSPs, Salesforce Cloud Consulting Expertise for Business Expansion

Ascend, a Top 100 Vertical Market MSP, was formed after M/C Partners acquired West Monroe Partners’ Managed Services Division and Gratia Inc. in December 2019. Additional Ascend acquisitions since that time have included Salesforce partner Doextra CRM Solutions and Switchfast.

The latest deal further bolsters Ascend's presence in Chicago, Illinois. Moreover, Ascend has scaled to employ roughly 300 U.S.-based information technology professionals.

Ascend Acquires MSP Business Unit: Executive Perspectives

In a prepared statement about the deal, Ascend CEO Wayne Kiphart said:

“Ascend Technologies is honored to continue Stratosphere’s mission of delivering great managed services to their clients. Additionally, we warmly welcome members from Stratosphere’s managed IT and cyber security services to our team. We are excited to continue to invest in the future of our new team members so they may continue the excellent services Stratosphere clients have come to expect.”

Added Steve Melchiorre, CEO of Stratosphere Networks:

“We were especially attracted to Ascend due to our similar culture and service offerings, and that Ascend is headquartered in Chicago. We believe our staff members and managed services clients will have an incredible opportunity to thrive and grow with Ascend. As for the future of Stratosphere, this opportunity enables us to focus our efforts and resources on our growing project and consulting business.”

Ascend first publicly announced this particular acquisition in December 2021.