Teneo seals next step in sale of Sungard Availability Services

17 June 2022 Consultancy.uk

The administrators of Sungard Availability Services have sealed the next step in the sale process out of administration, with Redcentric Solutions buying up three data centers.

Despite being one of the UK’s largest business continuity providers, the UK branch of Sungard Availability Services had been struggling with rising power costs, and the impact of Covid-19 on its colocation and managed cloud service business. With the many of its sites having been rendered unprofitable, the company was left with no choice but to seek out administrators.

In April 2022, Teneo experts Benjamin Dymant and Ian Wormleighton were appointed as joint administrators of Sungard. After one month, the pair managed to seal an exclusivity agreement with Daisy Group to facilitate the transfer of customers.

Teneo transfers Sungard Availability Services contracts

Now, the administrators have struck a deal for the acquisition of the wider business out of administration.

Redcentric Solutions has acquired the buying data centers, colocation and network services of Sungard, for a cost of between £11 million and £22 million according to reporting by Computer Weekly.

The final price will depend on whether annualised revenue targets are met at Sungard over the next twelve months.

Joint administrator Dymant commented, “We are delighted to have reached this agreement. The anticipated transaction close will be an excellent outcome for all stakeholders, given the circumstances. Not only will this protect a significant number of jobs, it also provides customers with the opportunity to guarantee continued provision of service, following a 9 week trading period, in which the administrators have ensured that services have continued without interruption.”

“During the period between exchange and completion, to minimise any potential disruption to customers, we will be working with Redcentric, Sungard customers, and suppliers to ensure a smooth transfer of services. However, this does also require customers to engage with Redcentric and agree their future service provision and we would urge customers to do this urgently and agree terms in this three week period, to ensure there is no break in the service provided.”

A further announcement will be made on completion, provided the terms of sale are met.

Previously, the administrators have separately completed the sale of the AWS and consulting division of Sungard to Redcentric Solutions.

Teneo’s restructuring arm was created by a carve-out in 2021. The professional services group scooped Deloitte’s UK restructuring arm after the Big Four began re-evaluating its offerings, following scrutiny over conflicts of interest.