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February 6, 2023 || Written by James Anderson for Channel Futures
Bluewave Technology Group has acquired SinglePoint Communications Group in a move that doubles down on its Louisville, Kentucky-area presence and strengthens its East Coast footprint.
The deal represents one of the first instances of a private equity company selling its purchased technology advisor (agent) partner. Soterra Capital, which bought SinglePoint Solutions in 2016 and later bought other technology advisory firms, will be a minority equity holder in Bluewave following the sale.
Executives involved with the deal said SinglePoint and Soterra were pursuing a business model similar to that of Bluewave. The latter aims to unify acquired companies into a single platform for full life-cycle technology advisory services.
“The Bluewave team shares our DNA of ensuring that customer outcomes are top of mind,” SinglePoint president Nic Jones said. “As we envisioned all of us as one team, it became apparent that our people and clients would greatly benefit by locking arms with Bluewave to lead customers through the IT procurement landscape moving forward. The added scale and expertise will bring significant value to clients as we look to disrupt and set a new standard for IT procurement and consulting.”
Jones, a former Schneider Electric sales manager, has signed on as Bluewave’s vice president of sales.
Bluewave, which has been using funding from Columbia Capital to bring agents and life-cycle management partners into its family, now employs 140 people as a result of the acquisition. It has also bolstered its disaster-recovery-as-a-service capabilities through the deal.
The parties did not disclose the financial terms of the transaction.
Louisville-based SinglePoint has existed since 1999 but has seen significant transformation over the last seven years. Soterra Capital acquired the company and Louisville-based Palladium Communication Group in 2016. It went on to buy four more companies: Louisville-based Engaged Pro, New Jersey-based Sky Technology Partners in 2021, and Lexington, Kentucky-based SinglePoint Solutions of central Kentucky.
SinglePoint and Bluewave maintain similar geographical footprints. Bluewave in November 2022 announced the acquisition of Louisville-based Virtual Telecomm.
“With SinglePoint, we are strengthening our presence in Kentucky, New York, and New Jersey. And we are doubling down on our enterprise focus with investments in experienced technologists who are vital in enabling organizations to stay ahead in the fast-changing market,” Bluewave founder and CEO Seth Penland said.
Penland described Soterra Capital as a “family-backed” group that had built strong roots in the channel. Soterra has offices in Louisville and Austin, Texas. Its website lists its preferred targets as majority investments in businesses of $2 million-$30 million in revenue and $1 million-$10 million in EBITDA.
Moreover, Penland and Soterra managing partner Jeremy Carter said the private equity firm hadn’t wanted to sell SinglePoint; however, that changed when it met Bluewave, Carter said.
“Our expectations and plan were for SinglePoint to be a near-permanent hold, but as we came to understand Bluewave’s strategy and team, we realized we have a similar view of this market and how to best position for the future,” Carter said. “By coming together with Bluewave, we decided that we could generate more value with lower risk for our team and owners and deliver a better experience to our customers. We are excited and eager to continue transforming this industry together.”
Penland said Soterra as a minority equity holder will play a key role in M&A going forward.
“They really spent a lot of time building up relationships in the industry,” Penland told Channel Futures. “Some those transactions have been consummated, and others are still kind of in the pipeline.”
Bluewave’s other acquisitions include iSymplify and Compass Solutions. In a blockbuster move for the partner space, the company recently bought Pennsylvania-based Helm Partners.
Lisa Guillaume
press@bluewave.net
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