Logicalis CEO: More Acquisitions On Horizon As We Transform To Next-Gen Powerhouse

Logicalis CEO Vince DeLuca on Wednesday said the company's $42 million acquisition of regional solution provider superstar MCPc's advanced technology group is the first of a number of acquisitions and investments aimed at making it a services-driven powerhouse.

The high cost of transforming to a next-generation services business model has more solution providers than ever before looking to sell, he said. As for Logicalis itself, it is investing as much as 40 percent of its resources over the next few years to make the transition through acquisition and internal growth.

"That isn't cheap," DeLuca said. "It's pretty difficult to make that shift without really leveraging yourself in a big way. It's a big risk."

[Related: Logicalis Buys MCPc Unit In $42 Million High Premium Blockbuster Deal]

As some of the largest solution providers are racing to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving market, DeLuca said the acquisition of the MCPc group will help position the solution provider behemoth, No. 27 on the 2015 CRN Solution Provider 500, to stay ahead of the services curve.

"I think it's vitally important that we continue to stay positioned along this transition and be out in front of it," DeLuca said.

DeLuca said that Logicalis is looking to make acquisitions in three key areas: core markets, services capabilities and third-platform capabilities and technologies. The MCPc acquisition furthers the first prong, he said, adding a solid geographical presence in the Midwest, new customers, a great reputation and a strong company culture.

"When I looked at all of those elements, [MCPc] added up to what I thought was a really ... strong asset that would help us extend our strategy and continue to make inroads to growing our business," DeLuca said in an interview with CRN.

"I just feel extremely strong that the two organizations' coming together are going to give our customers a much stronger base to operate on, whether it's a services lens or additional capabilities," he continued.

Logicalis will be "active" in making acquisitions across all three prongs going forward, he said.

Logicalis will also be investing "significantly" internally, DeLuca said, to embrace more services around cloud, mobile, security and other areas. Right now the company does about 75 percent of its business in core areas, such as the MCPc acquisition, and 25 percent in some form of advanced services. DeLuca said the company would like to ultimately make the mix closer to 50-50.

"We'll have a combination of both internal investment as well as acquisition targets to further ourselves along that transition," DeLuca said.

Despite the transition pressure, DeLuca said he feels confident that Logicalis is in a strong position for the remainder of 2015 and the rest of its fiscal year. Through acquisitions like MCPc, DeLuca said Logicalis is marching ahead with its plan to continue that success for the long term.

"This transition is real. It's meaningful and we have to continue moving," DeLuca said.

PUBLISHED JULY 29, 2015