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Wavenet and Daisy join forces
Combination will produce one of the largest independent managed service providers in the UK
Wavenet and Daisy Corporate Services have combined to create one of the largest managed service providers in the UK.
The combination will generate an operation with £500m revenues, around 2,000 staff and a customer base that is in excess of 22,000 businesses.
Areas of focus will include cyber security, cloud and intelligent networking, giving the combined entity more buying power and alliances with major suppliers and telcos.
The tie-up comes in a week where there has already been further evidence of consolidation, with Air IT buying Scottish channel player SoConnect, and both Wavenet and Daisy being active independently on the M&A front.
Last June, Daisy acquired ECSC, bolstering its cyber and security capability. Wavenet has completed six acquisitions since 2021 to deepen its services capabilities, particularly in terms of cyber and next-gen comms.
Wavenet chairman Bill Dawson said it was a positive move to join forces with Daisy. “By combining our strengths, resources and expertise, we are poised to create a stronger and more innovative organisation, well positioned to maximise on the rising-tide markets of cyber, cloud and intelligent networks,” he said.
“Daisy is a well-known and well-respected business, and both parties bring unique but complementary strengths to the table,” said Dawson. “Our shared vision is to create a best-in-class business that will help shape the future of next-generation technology.”
Employee and customer benefits
Daisy chairman Matthew Riley, who will join the board as a non-executive director, said the employees and customers would be among the first to benefit from the tie-up.
“Daisy and Wavenet are a great fit, not just in terms of our current operations, but our future aspirations and our culture,” he said. “People are a top priority for both businesses, and we believe that our combined breadth of skill and depth of expertise will be unrivalled in our marketplace.
“The newly combined business will be primed for growth through the increased scale of our offering, greater market reach and cross-selling opportunities,” said Riley. “We will also strengthen our existing alliances with global tech providers with the new business becoming the number one partner for many.”
The deal will leave Wavenet’s existing private equity partner, Macquarie Capital Principal Finance, as the largest shareholder, with Riley and other existing Daisy shareholders retaining a minority stake in the business.
The involvement of Macquarie is seen as a positive force that would support future growth. The deal has been pitched as two strong businesses, with established customer bases, coming together from positions of strength and both offering strong growth potential.
The deal must now get the green light from the regulatory approval process before it’s completed.
