Running your business News
IT M&A Expert: Over $5 Trillion In Transactions Completed In 2021
Joseph F. Kovar
Tim Mueller, president of martinwolf M&A Advisors, says he’s ‘still very bullish on the marketplace’ as he outlines the factors solution providers looking for growth should keep in mind when determining whether to build, buy or sell their business.
A Host Of Decisions To Be Made
While MSP and solution provider valuations are near their highest levels, whether to engage in M&A activities or invest in organic growth remains a key decision for those looking at how to grow their business.
Tim Mueller, president of martinwolf M&A Advisors, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based M&A advisory firm specializing in the midmarket IT industry, Tuesday told an audience of IT solution providers during the Best of Breed virtual conference that a lot of questions arise from founders, boards and shareholders on the right timing to either build organically or engage in a merger or acquisition. The Best of Breed virtual conference was hosted by CRN parent The Channel Company.
Mueller said that M&A activity has been on the rise thanks to easy access to capital, attractive interest rates, a strong economy and interest in recurring revenue opportunities.
[Related: MSPs And Private Equity: What Makes An MSP Stand Out From The Pack? ]
“We’re still very bullish on the marketplace, even with rising inflation, interest rates, the Ukrainian invasion, and other world geopolitical events. ... You saw a rise in the U.S. [economy], and unemployment decreased in 2021, making for really a ripe market for mergers and acquisitions,” he said.
Mueller has been watching solution provider valuations and M&A activity for years. He was the founder of IT ExchangeNet, or ITX, which advised channel companies focused on the small-business market looking to acquire or be acquired. Those companies had values as low as $5 million.
ITX in late 2020 was acquired by martinwolf, which offered M&A advisory services on IT services, IT supply chain and software companies in the $30 million to $500 million range.
“We’ve done over 200 transactions over the last 25 years,” said Mueller. “And we’ve done those on multiple continents, cross-border experience in 20 different countries.”
Here is what Mueller had to say about the factors solution providers looking for growth should keep in mind when determining whether to build, buy or sell.
