Cosentry, a provider of IT services and a portfolio company of TA Associates, has agreed to be acquired by TierPoint. Upon closing of the acquisition, Cosentry will become a subsidiary of TierPoint and will operate under the TierPoint brand. Simultaneously, TA Associates – which acquired Cosentry in 2011 – will become an investor in TierPoint.
Cosentry is a provider of cloud, colocation and other managed IT services. The company operates nine data centers in several Midwest markets, including Omaha, St. Louis, Kansas City, Sioux Falls, and Milwaukee. The company is led by CEO Brad Hokamp and is headquartered in Omaha (www.cosentry.com).
“We are very pleased to be investing in TierPoint,” said Harry Taylor, a Managing Director at TA Associates. “With their complementary product offerings and service areas, we are confident the addition of Cosentry to TierPoint’s portfolio will prove to be an industry powerhouse.”
TierPoint is a national provider of cloud, colocation and other managed IT services. The company operates data centers in the states of Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington. When the acquisition of Cosentry closes in March 2016, TierPoint will operate 38 data centers nationally in 24 markets and serve more than 6,000 customers. TierPoint is led by Jerry Kent, Chairman and CEO, and is headquartered in St. Louis (www.tierpoint.com).
“Cosentry is an excellent company with great people and this acquisition gives TierPoint a significant, strategic advantage in key Midwest markets, where there is an increasing demand for data center services,” said Mr. Kent.
Upon closing TA Associates will join the current investors in TierPoint which include RedBird Capital Partners, Cequel III, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, the Stephens Group, JZ Advisers and Thompson Street Capital Partners. “We are extremely pleased with TierPoint’s execution of our build-up strategy over the last year, culminating with this most recent acquisition of Cosentry,” said Gerry Cardinale, Managing Partner and Founder of RedBird Capital Partners. “Under Jerry Kent’s leadership, the original TierPoint platform has been transformed through several key acquisitions and continued organic growth across its nationwide facilities base.”
TA Associates makes buyouts and minority recapitalizations of profitable growth companies in the technology, financial services, business services, healthcare and consumer industries. Since founding in 1968, TA has invested in over 450 companies globally, including more than 100 software companies, and has raised more than $18 billion in capital. The firm has offices in Boston, Menlo Park, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong (www.ta.com).
“We’re extremely pleased that a leader like TA Associates has chosen to become an investor in TierPoint. The combination of TierPoint and Cosentry will bring economies of scale, which benefits our customers, and the addition of TA Associates to an already strong investor group brings additional financial firepower,” added Mr. Kent.
© 2016 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 1-21-16
