Master Agent Telarus Acquires Comtel Communications To Scale Cloud, Telecom Businesses

Consolidation strikes again in the master agent space as Telarus scoops up Comtel Communications.

Privately held Telarus is inking its second deal in three months. This time, the company on Wednesday revealed it had purchased fellow master agency, Comtel Communications.

Telarus, based in Sandy, Utah, said that the two companies coming together is expected to fuel more growth opportunities for partners selling cloud, telecom services, and contact center solutions.

The two companies are not disclosing financial terms of the deal.

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The acquisition comes three months after Telarus’ purchase of Philadelphia-based master agency Chorus Communications, a firm that specializes in cloud and networking services.

Richmond, Va.-based Comtel Communications has a portfolio of more than 350 national and international suppliers of voice and data services.

“I was particularly impressed by Telarus’ ethics code, which made this decision much easier,” said Ben Humphreys, Comtel’s CEO, in a statement on the deal. “It became evident that size and sales matter and that we must partner with someone that has scale in the industry. Ultimately, we needed to partner with a leader for sales, contracts, commissions, and resources.”

Via the terms of the deal, Comtel agents will have access to all Telarus resources, including marketing, engineering, support, and specialty operations teams, as well as Telaurus‘ own software tools, including Geoquote, fiber maps, and dynamic matrices. Partners will also have access to automated paperwork, order status tools, project management, account management, and financial services offered by Telarus, Adam Edwards, the company’s co-founder and CEO, told CRN.

Existing Telarus partners will benefit from the scale and added production brought by Comtel, Edwards said. “More sales volume allows Telarus to continue to invest in support services and partner enablement resources. Partners have continued to show that they gravitate to master agents that are able to provide not only top commissions, but value that allows them to grow their business.”

Comtel Communications agent partners will be serviced by a local Telarus senior partner development manager and an inside team of partner support and cable support managers, according to Telarus.

The master agent space is no stranger to consolidation. These companies must grow organically, or by acquisition in order to retain their top rankings with the biggest carriers in the country. At the same time, master agents must grow their cloud businesses to meet the increasing demand for cloud-based solutions, including contact center and unified communications as a service offerings.

IT distributor ScanSource in 2016 acquired Petaluma, Calif.-based master agent Intelisys for its telecom and cloud businesses for $83.6 million, plus earns-outs. AppDirect, a developer of a platform for distributing Software-as-a-Service, bought WTG, a master agency based in Southern California in 2019 for an undisclosed sum.

Telarus has been growing its business organically and through consolidation over the last several years. The company in 2017 announced it was acquiring cloud and mobility-focused master agent CarrierSales, which helped grow Telarus’ foothold in the wireless arena.

Telarus is the largest privately master agent in the United States, according to the company. Telarus also has operations in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.