NetSuite Partners Merge

The news was announced earlier this week. Both parties are privately held and no terms were disclosed.

Lohmueller is based in Raleigh, N.C., and LS Technologies in Fallbrook, Calif., but the resulting entity, LST, will comprise operating companies in Salt Lake City, Raleigh, Nevada and California, each run by a managing partner.

Mick Gallagher is the managing partner of the California group. Rufus Lohmueller heads the Utah operations, while Judy Lohmueller will fill the same role in Nevada.

"We felt there was a marriage between the two management styles and [this will be a good] set-up for future acquisitions," said Gallagher, formerly CEO of Life Sci Technologies and now CEO of LST of California.

"Life Sci was big in health care and pharmaceuticals, but we also did a lot of SMB work. All the manufacturers are looking for a go-to partner in terms of understanding the SMB market, so the years we've done this, both as Lohmueller and LS Technologies, give us a leg up in the SMB space."

Gallagher also said with Oracle's growing all-indirect model, the combined solution provider company will be a force in SMB.

The former LS Technologies did about 70 to 80 percent of its work with Oracle, the rest with NetSuite. Lohmueller was NetSuite-only. The operating companies will offer both Oracle and NetSuite solutions.

Zach Nelson, CEO of NetSuite, San Mateo, Calif., welcomed the news.

"They are both great partners, and I'm happy for both of them. I think scale is very important in delivering SaaS solutions, so I think the combination of two of our most capable solution providers is a win for NetSuite and a win for our customers," Nelson said via e-mail.

This is the latest software channel M&A story. Last week, two of