Claranet, a European managed services provider, has acquired Bashton Ltd., a UK-based Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud specialist with DevOps skills, the two companies have confirmed. This is the latest in a growing list of deals that plug AWS skills into an MSP or hosting provider.
Claranet Group has over 1,000 staff and over 5,500 customers in the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal. The company's annual revenues are roughly £165 million -- or roughly US $233 million (using the Feb. 22, 2016, exchange rate of 1.42 US dollars to the British pound). I believe the figure includes Bashton's annual revenues of about £1.2 million -- or roughly US $1.7 million.
Bashton's AWS and DevOps Focus
Bashton works primarily with retail and media customer on AWS. Bashton's DevOps expertise allows rapid code updates on AWS, along with the ongoing management and monitoring of Amazon-based cloud applications.
(Side note: Very few U.S.-based MSPs and IT service providers have started the DevOps journey. Key first-movers include TekLinks, which described some of the strategy at IT Nation 2015.)
"The development of managed services on third-party clouds is a key focus for Claranet," said Michael Robert, Claranet UK's managing director. "And the skills and experience brought by Bashton go a long way to helping us to manage more complex applications in these environments.
"From a personal point of view, I will be staying within the business, helping achieve our aim of making Claranet the foremost AWS managed services provider in Europe," added Sam Bashton, founder and director of the acquired MSP. "I think this marks an exciting next chapter for our team of AWS experts, and I’m looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead."
But this is more than an Amazon-centric deal. Bashton bolsters Claranet’s ability to deliver managed application hosting services on any combination of private and public cloud infrastructure, Claranet asserts.
Multiple MSP Acquisitions
Claranet has been active on the M&A front. The company last year acquired LinuxIT and Techgate in the UK as part of an overall expansion strategy. Meanwhile, M&A deals have continued strong during the first few weeks of 2016.
- GTT Communications, a cloud networking provider to multinational clients, acquired Telnes Broadband.
- Avalon Document Services and Digits merged to promote managed services, cyber security and eDiscovery in the legal vertical.
- Aldridge acquired Arterian and PacketDrivers for a Seattle-area MSP push and a Microsoft cloud practice build-out.
- TUC Managed IT Solutions and CareWorx merged to pursue managed services and the senior care vertical.
- Clearlake Capital Group, another PE firm, purchased Pomeroy and merged it with Tolt Solutions in late 2015.
- Court Square Capital Partners, a private equity firm, acquired AHEAD — a major IT solution provider based in Chicago, in late 2015.
- Presidio, backed by PE ownership, acquired Netech, a $300 million Cisco partner, in January 2016.
ChannelE2E will update this article if/when more information about the Claranet-Bashton deal emerges.
