The Purple Guys Acquires Accelerate In Fifth MSP Deal In 27 Months

‘We’re looking for well-run MSPs at a good size. We’re not looking for fixer-uppers. They need a leadership team on the ground that will stay with the business at least through the transition. And culture is important. Merging MSPs is hard,’ says Kevin Cook, CEO of The Purple Guys.

Private equity-backed MSP The Purple Guys Tuesday unveiled its fifth acquisition in 27 months with the purchase of Accelerate, an Indianapolis-based MSP.

The acquisition, the dollar value of which was not disclosed, was actually closed a few weeks ago, said Kevin Cook, CEO of Shreveport, La.-based The Purple Guys.

“We needed time to talk to Accelerate’s people and its clients,” Cook told CRN.

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The Purple Guys is primarily based in mid-America, with offices in Louisiana, Kansas, Missouri,and Texas thanks to multiple acquisitions, Cook said.

“This is our first time to have an office in a new time zone,” he said. “Accelerate extends our market to Indianapolis and brings us a mature business and talented people. And that’s important. Good people are hard to find.”

Accelerate has been in business for over 20 years and is profitable, Cook said. “It’s a well-run, mature business,” he said.

With Accelerate comes about 20 employees including Tony Schafer, its founder and president, Cook said.

“Tony will stay on in a consulting and transition role,” he said. “We have an integration plan. He will make sure all his people are settled in before he leaves. He has been looking for an exit. It’s a good time to sell an MSP. The valuations are at an all-time high.”

The Purple Guys learned about Accelerate when the company was brought to its attention by Focus Investment Banking, a Vienna, Va.-based midmarket investment bank, Cook said.

“We didn’t retain Focus,” he said. “But they know that we are highly acquisitive. We are planning more acquisitions this year. Hopefully another one or two. But they have to be the right kinds of companies.”

The Purple Guys is looking for companies in certain geographies into which it hopes to expand, Cook said.

“And we’re looking for well-run MSPs at a good size,” he said. “We’re not looking for fixer-uppers. They need a leadership team on the ground that will stay with the business at least through the transition. And culture is important. Merging MSPs is hard.”

The Purple Guys was founded in January 2020 when two private equity companies, Kian Capital and Park South Ventures, purchased the majority of Enterprise Computing Services, which Cook founded in 1997.

The company in January acquired Technology Pointe, which brought the company offices in Dallas and Austin, Texas.