Mergers and Acquisitions, IT management, Mergers and Acquisitions, IT management, MSP, Networking, Content, Private equity, Telecom cloud, Unified communications, Vertical markets

Upstack Acquires Telecom & Technology Agency Digital Planet Communications

Linking entities. Networking, social media, SNS, internet communication connect concept. Teamwork, network and community abstract. (Linking entities. Networking, social media, SNS, internet communication connect concept. Teamwork, network and communit

Linking entities. Networking, social media, SNS, internet communication connect concept. Teamwork, network and community abstract. (Linking entities. Networking, social media, SNS, internet communication connect concept. Teamwork, network and communit

Communications and digital infrastructure company Upstack, backed by private equity firm Berkshire Partners, has acquired Digital Planet Communications for an undisclosed sum.

This is technology M&A deal number 845 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2022. See more than 1,000 technology M&A deals involving MSPs, MSSPs & IT service providers listed here.

Upstack Acquires Digital Planet

Upstack, founded in 2017, is based in New York, New York. The company has 103 employees listed on LinkedIn. Upstack’s areas of expertise include colocation, network, private cloud, public cloud, hybrid cloud, hybrid IT, data center, unified communications, cloud contact center, security and business continuity.

Digital Planet Communications, founded in 2001, is based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The company has 11 employees listed on LinkedIn. Digital Planet’s areas of expertise include UCaaS, CCaaS, SD-WAN, security, and traditional voice and internet solutions.

Digital Planet serves businesses across industries, specializing in health care, insurance, and finance.

As part of the investment, Digital Planet's President Shawn Schmidt will join Upstack as Partner and Managing Director. Vice Presidents Brent Killen and Jonathan Watkins will join Upstack as Partners, the company said.

Upstack Acquires Digital Planet: Leadership Insight

Christopher Trapp, CEO, Upstack
Christopher Trapp, CEO, Upstack

Christopher Trapp, founder and CEO, Upstack, commented:

"Digital Planet has been a trailblazer in the technology channel for more than two decades. Their ability to see where the market is going and seize the opportunity is a great match for Upstack's vision and culture. We're excited to welcome Shawn, Brent, and Jonathan to the Upstack family, and we're thrilled to bring their expertise and experience to our advisory team."

Brent Killen, vice president, Digital Planet, said:

"We've done a tremendous job growing our organization in the last few years," said Killen. "To continue bringing on enterprise clients, we needed to team up with a larger brand with dedicated resources that could provide technology solutions and customer support for these large companies."

Shawn Schmidt, president, Digital Planet, added:

"Simply put, we wanted to go where the all-stars are. Some of the greatest support people we have worked with over the years had joined Upstack. We felt confident that our growth would be supported."

Jonathan Watkins, vice president, Digital Planet, said:

"Our priority is our customers – some of them have been with us for as long as 21 years. We're excited about joining UPSTACK because we know this partnership will provide our customers with the utmost in customer care and so many additional resources."

Upstack’s M&A Growth

Building on an earlier equity investment from Berkshire Partners, Upstack recently secured $100 million in financing from MidCap Financial and Morgan Stanley Private Credit to further scale its platform through technology expansion and strategic partner investments.

This has led Upstack to be very active in the M&A game in recent years. The acquisitions have primarily focused on telecommunications, networking and infrastructure companies. The deals that ChannelE2E has tracked include:

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