Kian Capital Exits The Purple Guys to Ntiva to Form a Market-Leading Pure-Play MSP
May 02 2024 - 6:00AM
Business Wire
The Purple Guys completed 10 strategic
acquisitions and more than tripled both revenue and EBITDA over the
course of its partnership with Kian, creating a scaled MSP platform
serving SMB clients across the Central and Southern U.S.
Kian Capital Partners, a lower-middle-market-focused private
investment firm, is pleased to announce the recent exit of its
investment in The Purple Guys through a sale to Ntiva, Inc., a
portfolio company of PSP Capital. Kian’s blueprint for enduring
value and commitment to building genuine partnerships with company
owners were instrumental in driving a successful outcome. Kian
partnered with the executive leadership team to grow the company
from a regional operation with a single location to a scaled
platform serving hundreds of clients across eight core markets in
six states. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The Purple Guys is a leading Managed IT Services Provider
(“MSP”) to small- and mid-sized businesses (“SMB”). Kian, along
with its co-investor ParkSouth Ventures, made its initial
investment in the company in January 2020 with a majority
recapitalization and merger of Enterprise Computing Services
(“ECS”) and My IT. In 2021, ECS / My IT completed the acquisitions
of The Purple Guys and Network Technologies and subsequently
rebranded to The Purple Guys, reflecting the evolution of the
company and its promise to deliver secure, reliable and
cost-effective IT services to the SMB market. Following the
rebranding, the company completed and integrated seven additional
acquisitions, creating a scaled regional MSP with a comprehensive
solution mix capable of addressing complex client needs.
“Since the beginning of our partnership, my leadership team and
I have been aligned with Kian on our collective goal to build the
leading IT managed services provider to the SMB community,”
commented The Purple Guys CEO Kevin Cook. “I could not be more
pleased with Kian’s partnership approach, collaboration and support
as we have expanded the business into new markets and accelerated
growth across the organization. Kian has been a value-added
partner, dedicating the capital, resources, board-level guidance
and time required to support our growth and to allow us to achieve
our collective goals. I am thankful for Kian’s partnership, and I
look forward to The Purple Guys’ continued success as we begin our
new journey with Ntiva.”
With Kian’s backing, the company completed 10 strategic
acquisitions, building density within key existing markets and
expanding service capabilities across the central U.S. To underpin
the company’s growth, The Purple Guys recruited top-level
executives, including a CFO and SVP of Sales, and internally
promoted a highly experienced COO. In addition, The Purple Guys
expanded operations from one market to eight offices across six
states and grew its employee base by more than four times, creating
opportunities for advancement and adding valuable technical
resources to better serve The Purple Guys’ loyal client base.
“From the outset of our partnership with Kevin and The Purple
Guys team, our collective goal has been to build a leading MSP
platform for the SMB market through a disciplined acquisition
strategy and sustainable organic growth,” said Kian Partner Matt
Levenson. “Kevin and the team have worked tirelessly to execute
this strategy with great success, and we thank each member of the
team for their contributions. As we look ahead, this combination
with Ntiva establishes one of the largest pure-play MSPs serving
the SMB space. We are proud to have partnered with Kevin and the
entire team at The Purple Guys, and we look forward to following
the company in its next chapter of growth.”
Harris Williams LLC served as exclusive financial advisor,
Robinson Bradshaw served as legal advisor and FORVIS served as
accounting and tax advisor to The Purple Guys.
About The Purple Guys
The Purple Guys is a leading provider of comprehensive managed
IT services to small- and mid-sized businesses. We focus on our
clients' IT so they don't have to. As trusted members of our
clients’ teams, we work hard on their behalf to help their
businesses grow and succeed by ensuring secure, reliable and
cost-effective IT systems. The Purple Guys has offices in
Shreveport and New Orleans, Louisiana; Kansas City, Kansas; St.
Louis, Missouri; Austin, Dallas and Houston, Texas; Indianapolis,
Indiana and Valparaiso, Indiana, employing more than 280 highly
trained team members serving businesses throughout the Central and
Southern U.S. For more information, visit www.purpleguys.com.
About Kian Capital Partners
At Kian, we forge partnerships to ignite growth and build
enduring value. Our goal is to provide flexible financial resources
and additional operational horsepower to scale lower-middle-market
businesses, realize aspirations and deliver long-term investment
returns through genuine partnership. Proud to be recognized on
Inc.’s Founder-Friendly Investors list for four consecutive years,
Kian is a private investment firm with $825 million of capital
under management and a focus on four core industry sectors:
consumer, services, value-added distribution and specialty
manufacturing. Our team of seasoned investors has over 100 years of
collective experience providing transformational capital solutions
and board-level strategic and operational guidance to founder/owner
operated businesses. To learn more, visit www.kiancapital.com.
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Business Inquiries David Duke Partner, Business Development
dduke@kiancapital.com T 470.823.3008
Media Inquiries Allie Gamble MiddleM Creative (on behalf of Kian
Capital) allie@middlemcreative.com T 704.280.1432