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Redcentric Solutions snaps up remaining Sungard Availability Services assets
Firm signs up AWS Consulting business and has a few weeks to complete deal for remaining datacentres
Redcentric Solutions has picked up the remaining assets and contracts from Sungard Availability Services, bringing an end to a saga that started back in April, when the firm went into administration.
Since Benjamin Dymant and Ian Wormleighton from Teneo were appointed as joint administrators for the business continuity provider at the start of April, there have been efforts to secure a future for as much of the business as possible.
Last month, it was revealed that Teneo had entered into an exclusivity agreement with Daisy Corporation to transfer across customers from 14 Sungard Workplace facilities.
That has been followed up with the latest move to exchange conditional contracts with Redcentric Solutions, a subsidiary of Redcentric, for the acquisition of the business and assets from the three remaining datacentre facilities.
The expectation is that the deal will complete by the end of this month, in the next 23 days, with contracts conditional on certain revenue thresholds being hit and on the customers in those datacentres agreeing to move over to Redcentric ownership.
The cost of the datacentres depends on annualised recurring revenue rates, and could set Redcentric back between a minimum of £11m and a possible maximum of £22m. More cash might be involved if certain targets are hit in the next 12 months.
Ensuring there is minimal disruption to customers is the reason for the quick timeline on the deal.
Completion of sale
In a separate move, the joint administrators have completed the sale of the AWS and Consulting Divisions of Sungard to Redcentric for £4.2m, paid in cash.
“The Joint Administrators are delighted to have reached this agreement,” said Benjamin Dymant, joint administrator. “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 nine-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,” he said. “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.”
Peter Brotherton, CEO of Redcentric, said this move could be seen against a backdrop of recent growth moves made by the company.
“Following completion of the capability acquisitions of Piksel Industry Solutions Ltd, and 7 Elements Ltd in September 2021 and March 2022 respectively, this acquisition is the first scale acquisition completed by Redcentric, in line with its strategy,” he said.
“The Sungard datacentres (DCs) principally provide colocation and cloud services which complement the Redcentric offering perfectly,” said Brotherton. “In addition, the Sungard DCs come with a superb blue-chip customer base, and should the acquisitions complete, they provide Redcentric with an exciting opportunity to accelerate its growth.”
