"Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it."
-Dwight Eisenhower
December 01,2014
Presidio Acquired by Apollo Global Management
martinwolf Transaction Analysis
Financial Information
- Enterprise Value: not disclosed
- EV/Revenue: not disclosed
- EV/EBITDA: not disclosed
Transaction Facts
- IT Solution Provider Presidio has been acquired by private equity firm Apollo Global Management for an undisclosed amount.
- While financial information for the transaction was not publicly disclosed, a May 2014 report in Reuters citing a source familiar with the company disclosed revenue of $2.3B, EBITDA of $180 million and a potential value of $1.5 billion. If these numbers are accurate, the EV/Revenue multiple would be 0.65x and the EV/EBITDA multiple would be 8.33x.
- Presidio which is No. 22 on the CRN 2014 SP500 list, was previously controlled by New York-based private equity firm American Securities since April 2011. It was reported in May 2014 that American Securities was considering a sale or IPO for Presidio.
- In the press release announcing this transaction, Presidio CEO Bob Cagnazzi credited American Securities with providing the resources to grow Presidio, particularly concerning the acquisitions of BlueWater Communications in 2012 and INX Inc in 2011. Apollo is expected to continue Presidio’s growth trajectory and further develop it as a leader in the IT Services space.
From One Private Equity to Another
- Private Giant: Presidio is a private company, but it has a huge enterprise value. At a reported $2.3 billion in revenue, the company is one of the largest resellers with a national presence. Size can be a complicating factor for M&A activity, and in this case it appears to have limited the field of potential acquirers to primarily private equity groups.
- PE Relationships Key to Success: Presidio has long been shaped by its relationship with its private equity investors, including most recently American Securities and also its previous investors Columbia Capital, Oak Investment Partners, Meritech Capital and Halyard Capital. As I wrote last week, PE groups can be instrumental in helping large solution providers achieve meaningful transformation – in this case, we expect increased focus on the managed and cloud services space.
- Strong Execution in a Hot Space: Based on Reuters’ reported numbers, Presidio is more profitable as a percentage of sales than all other large solution providers in the MW Scoreboard other than CDW. It has been able to achieve this success through well-respected leadership and smart focus in an active space.
For more information, view the press release by clicking here. martinwolf was not the advisor in this transaction.
