The Purple Guys Buys Golden Tech, Expands Reach In The Midwest

The acquisition of Valparaiso, Ind.-based Golden Tech gives The Purple Guys a central location between its Chicago and Indianapolis offices and a chance to dominate that entire market, The Purple Guys CEO Kevin Cook tells CRN.

The Purple Guys CEO Kevin Cook

MSP The Purple Guys Tuesday said it has expanded its reach in the Midwest with the acquisition of fellow MSP Golden Tech.

The Purple Guys, named after the color of the shirts its original employees wore, actually closed the acquisition of Golden Tech about four weeks ago, marking The Purple Guys’ third MSP acquisition in 2022 and its sixth since it was formed, said Kevin Cook, CEO of the Shreveport, La.-based MSP.

The acquisition of Golden Tech, a Valparaiso, Ind.-based MSP, follows its May acquisition of Accelerate, an Indianapolis-based MSP, which gives The Purple Guys a central location between its Chicago and Indianapolis offices and a chance to dominate that entire market, Cook told CRN.

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Golden Tech is a great technical company founded by engineers and is in the right location, Cook said.

“Now we can build density in that market,” he said. “Golden Tech dominates the Valparaiso market. And we want to dominate in any market we enter. It’s a one-hour drive from Chicago and a one-hour drive from South Bend, Ind. A very good central location in a market we want to dominate.”

Golden Tech, which has about 20 employees, is a classic MSP, Cook said.

“They’re doing all the great things MSPs do but for the last 12 to 18 months have been focused on building a security practice,” he said. “A lot of MSPs of their size say they’re doing that, but they don’t always do it. Golden Tech is.

While Golden Tech brings an experienced engineering team to The Purple Guys, with about 300 customers of which about 80 are fully managed, it does not add significant new expertise, Cook said. Instead, the acquisition is mainly about geographic expansion, he said.

Cook declined to discuss the value of the acquisition.

The husband and wife founder of Golden Tech are staying on in a transition role, he said.

“The ability to grow and scale with new clients is important,” he said. “The founders are providing a long-term path for their clients and employees, which is important to them.”

The Purple Guys looks to make three to four acquisitions every year. It 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. Enterprise Computing Services was renamed after it acquired The Purple Guys.

“We have more in the pipeline,” he said. “We are on a path of three to four acquisitions per year, as long as we find the right MSPs to acquire. We just need the right culture and fit.”

Focus Investment Banking’s Managed Service Provider (MSP) Team was the exclusive financial advisor to Golden Tech in the transaction, as well as to Accelerate in that company acquisition in May by The Purple Guys. Focus also served as the exclusive financial advisor to The Purple Guys in its original 2020 “platform” transaction with Kian Capital and ParkSouth Ventures.