Equiteq completes five sale mandates in professional services
Equiteq has kicked off 2021 in style with the successful completion of five strategic sale and growth mandates.
Focusing on helping owners in the professional services industry fulfil their M&A goals, Equiteq is a corporate finance advisory firm with offices in New York, London, Paris, Singapore and Sydney. The company provides strategic advice on growth and shareholder returns, and helps clients with their acquisitions, mergers and divestments.
The firm has kicked off 2021 with a flurry of activity across its global footprint, advising on five deals that closed in the technology, health, communications, risk management and cybersecurity segments.
Pythagoras Communications
Most recently, this saw Equiteq advise UK technology company Pythagoras Communications on its sale to EY’s technology consulting business. Founded in 1999, Pythagoras is an IT consultancy specialised in the design and implementation of Microsoft products and services. In the UK, the deal enabled Pythagoras to extend its service portfolio in the Microsoft domain.
Julian Stone, CEO and Pythagoras Founder noted that Equiteq “understood our expectations and led us through the process with determination understanding, and a strong team work ethic through the various challenges that got us to an excellent transaction outcome.”
Jerome Glynn-Smith, Managing Director at Equiteq said, “We are delighted to have advised Julian and Emma Stone alongside Vin Murria on the sale of Pythagoras to EY.”
“It is clear that there is strong appetite in the market to acquire businesses that have the capabilities to deliver specialty solutions around Microsoft Dynamics 365, Power Platform and Azure. We expect to see further interest from investors in this fast-growth segment, as well as further consolidation as international players seek to secure the capabilities required to meet high levels of demand.”
Sentar
Equiteq also advised fast-growing cyber-intelligence company Sentar on its sale to QOMPLX, a leader in cloud-native risk analytics. Established in 1990, Sentar is one of the fastest-growing cyber-intelligence companies serving the National Security sector.
Sentar’s President, Darren Kraabel, noted that Equiteq had helped advise the company through the various complexities associated with a “unique transaction,” and that with Equiteq’s help, Sentar had “found a fabulous partner with the capital, commitment, and passion to accelerate achievement of our strategic growth objectives while preserving the parts of our business that mattered most to our people.”
Sam Levy and Daniel Siller, Managing Directors of Equiteq North America, commented, “It has been an honour working with the Sentar team. Sentar has built an incredible Cybersecurity practice serving the Federal Government and Intelligence space. The fit with QOMPLX is incredible and we are convinced that the combined entity will reach new heights in the years to come.”
Future State
Elsewhere, Accenture acquired Future State, an Oakland based provider of change management and business transformation consulting services. Founded in 1982, Future State helps technology, life sciences, and CPG firms manage organizational changes such as technological adoption, business growth, and post-merger integration – while its approximately 100 consultants have support high-profile clients such as Adobe, Roche, Genentech, and Ericsson.
Equiteq acted as exclusive financial and strategic advisor to Future State, with Future State CEO Shannon Adkins stating it had “supported us [for several years] in increasing firm value,” and throughout the M&A process “for the best possible outcome.”
Jeff Becker, Managing Director, Head of M&A - North America, commented, “We are thrilled to have been able to negotiate this transaction on behalf of Future State and believe that partnering with Accenture will be a great fit for the company and its employees.”
Alira Health
Further to this, Equiteq advised Alira Health, an international advisory firm dedicated to advancing healthcare and life sciences, on its $35 million equity financing led by Creadev. The deal with the evergreen investment company backed by the Mulliez family saw Alira Health sell a minority stake in its operations in return for growth financing. Regarding Equiteq’s role in the transaction, CEO Gabriele Brambilla said that Equiteq provided vital support in evaluating the firm’s “global opportunities,” and helped select Creadev, “an outstanding match for our business goals.”
Adam Tindall, Managing Director of Equiteq in New York, commented, “Alira Health’s management team is doing a fantastic job of building a high growth and leading international healthcare and life sciences advisory firm. It was a pleasure working with the Alira team to find the perfect long-term partners to support their next phase of growth.”
Delv
Finally, Equiteq was the exclusive financial advisor in a transaction which saw Vox Financial Partners snap up end-to-end risk, data and regulatory management change services firm Delv. Vox’s acquisition of Delv adds a cutting-edge data practice to the company’s industry-leading risk and regulatory change management consulting services, while allowing Delv to grow more rapidly.
Regarding Equiteq’s role, Delv CEO Dave Lindsay said that the firm “couldn’t have been more pleased with their ability to see the alignment with Vox in terms of strategy, culture, and management-team fit.”
Equiteq’s Sam Levy added, “It was great to leverage our knowledge of the sector, combine Vox and Delv to form an even stronger platform serving financial services firms. We are proud of bringing these two exceptional teams together in a very strategic transaction and look forward to assisting the leading company even further in its growth journey.”
