Schwartz-backed Armitage Associates finds merger partner for Tecala
Armitage Associates-backed IT services group Tecala will pay about $10 million to purchase automation consulting services company rapidMATION.
Pieter DeGunst, founder of Tecala.
Sources told Street Talk the deal was underpinned by Tecala’s itch to be in the automation business, with managing director Pieter DeGunst describing the technology as a core growth focus area for IT-managed services.
MinterEllison was on hand for legal advice while BDO did the accounting legwork.
Tecala targets business clients with 100 to 1000 employees and offers managed IT services, help with cloud computing, networks and the like.
It has about 150 staff and has been focused on national expansion efforts, ramping up its relatively new intelligent business practice (digital workflows, robotic process automation etc), and improving its cybersecurity group, all components of the five-year plan.
Armitage – a Melbourne-based growth equity investor backed by the powerful Schwartz family – threw $18 million into Tecala in August last year, bankrolling its plans to be the No. 1 provider to Australian small to medium-sized enterprises and picking up a significant minority stake.
Armitage’s Mark De Ambrosis joined the group’s board as part of the deal, along with industry veteran Steve Nola.
The firm typically cuts $10 million to $30 million cheques for profitable companies. Its other investments include doctor-led specialist disability and aged care support services group Maxlife Care, registered training organisation Demi International and biomedical equipment provider Mediquip. RapidMATION assists clients in areas such as digital transaction and process automation, offering services like chatbots and AI.
Plans for the new merged entity centre
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