Aldridge Continues Acquisition Streak, Picking Up Dallas-Based MSP Twist Solutions

On the heels of making three acquisitions in 2014, fast-growing IT outsourcing company Aldridge has notched its first acquisition of 2015, buying Twist Solutions, a 30-person MSP based in Dallas.

The acquisition should help the company scale up its operations in Dallas, capturing more deals in the small and midsize enterprise market, according to Houston-based Aldridge.

"It was a great opportunity to grow to grow an existing location for us," Patrick Wiley, Aldridge's president and COO, told CRN.

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The deal tripled Aldridge's Dallas-based workforce to 36 and brought 70 new clients on board, Wiley said. Like Aldridge, most of Twist's customers employ between 25 and 250 people.

It is the largest acquisition to date for the 31-year-old company and brings its employee headcount to nearly 100, making it one of the biggest MSPs in Texas. Aldridge was No. 25 on CRN's 2014 Fast Growth 150 list with a two-year growth rate of 152.94 percent.

Twist was founded in 2002 and offers IT support, network management and cloud services to professional services firms, manufacturers and distribution companies.

Aldridge focuses on managed services, professional services and cloud services.

The companies share expertise in Microsoft desktop and server products, Wiley said.

"We determined it was necessary for Twist to team with a larger and more mature managed services company to satisfy the increasingly complex demands of our customers, and Aldridge was the perfect match," Twist CEO Kevin Trottier said in a statement.

Prior to acquiring Twist, Aldridge's Dallas team depended pretty heavily on the shared services group at its Houston headquarters. Bolstering the Dallas team will allow Aldridge to better serve the many Houston-based companies with Dallas operations, or vice versa, Wiley said.

Terms of the agreement, which closed Jan. 1, were not disclosed.

Trottier and CTO H. Alex Famili will remain with the company temporarily through the transition process. The rest of Twist's workforce will be retained and folded into Aldridge's Dallas operation, which is led by Senior Vice President Bryan Gregory.

This is Aldridge's 10th acquisition since 2010, which Wiley said has been prompted by a hungry management team at Aldridge and the potential in the SMB managed services space.

Aldridge broke into Dallas with its 2013 acquisition of the IT services division of The Harding Group. Today, the company has offices in Houston, Dallas and Austin.

Last year was an even busier year for Aldridge, with the MSP in June acquiring Houston-based MSP IS Support and Austin-based Clyde Bennett & Associates, a reseller of electronic medical records solutions and IT services for medical practices. Three months later, Aldridge acquired Austin-based MSP Tydan IT.

"The deals are getting more frequent, and a little larger," Wiley said.

All of this, Wiley said, is part of Aldridge's plan to become a $100 million MSP by 2022. Following the Twist acquisition, Aldridge's annual revenue totals $20 million.

Wiley expects future acquisitions will further strengthen Aldridge's presence in Texas but said the company will look to expand its geographic reach beyond the Lone Star State.

PUBLISHED JAN. 20, 2015