BrazilSingapore-based Axentel Technologies acquired by Park Place Technologies
As consulting firms bid to expand their footprint amid the growing technology-driven economies of the Asia-Pacific region, Park Places Technologies has acquired Axentel Technologies. The sell-side was advised on by consulting industry M&A advisory Equiteq.
The Asia-Pacific region has witnessed exponential growth in FinTech investments over recent years, jumping from a mere 10 deals valued at $100 million in 2010 to 192 deals with a total value of more than $9.6 billion last year. The region far outperformed North America and Europe combined, making the market an increasingly attractive prospect for consulting firms looking to invest in growing technology markets. Singapore saw $35 million of this activity, making it one of the region’s largest individual FinTech investment hubs.
The global appetite for acquisitions of technology firms in general has continued over from last year, into 2018, with a succession of recent deals. The latest of these has seen Axentel Technologies, an IT firm specialising in high-level maintenance services in Asia, purchased by the world's largest pure-play post-warranty data-centre maintenance organisation, US firm Park Place Technologies.
Axentel was founded in 2005 by current leader Jerry Yiu, and the Singapore-headquartered firm has recently been enjoying high top-line growth, with recurring revenues and strong renewal rates. The IT service provider for hardware maintenance services caters to the needs of 210 customers, which are typically large international organisations, across 28 countries in South-East Asia and Hong-Kong.
The provider of IT life-cycle solutions is a particularly attractive prospect for buyer, Park Place Technologies, a firm keen to continue expansion in the region. The professional services firm, founded in the US in 1991, works to provide an alternative to post-warranty storage, server and networking hardware maintenance for IT data centres. Park Place has already commenced the building of a customer base across Asia and the Middle East, pushing their global footprint to 30,000 data centres in more than 100 countries.
Chris Adams, President and Chief Operating Officer of Park Place Technologies, said that the acquisition of Axentel is a major opportunity for the group to strengthen its foothold in Asia and broaden its portfolio of capabilities in the region. According to Adams; “The acquisition of Axentel is a major move towards establishing a leadership position in the region, enhancing our service offering and better serving more customers around the world.”
Global M&A specialists Equiteq acted as advisors to the sell side. Speaking on the deal, Jean-Louis Michelet, Managing Director of Equiteq Asia-Pacific, commented; “I have been impressed by the strength of the strategic rationale of this deal, as well as the convergence between the two organisations in terms of corporate culture, values, and business development strategy.”
Regarding Equiteq’s role, Jerry Yiu added, “While joining Park Place looked from the outset like the perfect strategic move for us to make, there were quite a few complex issues that had to be addressed. Throughout the process, the Equiteq team have done a great job at preparing us, assisting us and ironing out all difficulties as they arose. I am sincerely grateful to them for having made this deal possible.”
