The Brains behind Daisy Group Matthew Riley has confirmed a merger with Wavenet, a firm owned mainly by Aussie finance titan Macquarie.
The merger involves Daisy Corporate Services breaking away from the parent group and being absorbed by Wavenet. The newly formed entity, retaining the name Wavenet, is poised to become a top-tier managed services provider, serving a whopping 20,000+ UK enterprise customers. The client list includes Costain, the NHS, and Transport for London.
The deal is projected to value the combined entity at £1 billion. Both outfits have a combined UK revenue nearing £330 million.
Macquarie, the largest individual shareholder, is reportedly backing the deal with debt financing from Ares. This transaction marks another significant move by Riley, hot on the heels of Daisy’s £215 million acquisition of cloud communications provider 4Com in April.
Wavenet will continue under the stewardship of executive chairman Bill Dawson, with Riley stepping into a non-executive director role on the company’s board. Houlihan Lokey’s bankers are advising on the deal.
Riley is no stranger to M&A at this scale, having previously bought out XLN Telecom for £210 million in 2022. Daisy, initially listed on the London public market, transitioned to private ownership in 2014 with support from Toscafund Asset Management.
Wavenet chairman Bill Dawson said: “We are thrilled to join forces with Daisy. By combining our strengths, resources, and expertise, we are poised to create a stronger and more innovative organisation that is well positioned to maximise the rising tide markets of cyber, cloud, and intelligent networks.”
“Daisy is a well-known and well-respected business; both parties bring unique but complementary strengths. Our shared vision is to create a best-in-class business that will help shape the future of next-generation technology.”
“Daisy and Wavenet are a great fit, not just in our current operations but our future aspirations and culture. People are a top priority for both businesses, and we believe that our combined breadth of skill and depth of expertise will be unrivalled in our marketplace,” added Riley.
“The newly combined business will be primed for growth through the increased scale of our offering, greater market reach and cross-selling opportunities. We will also strengthen our existing alliances with global tech providers, with the new business becoming the number one partner for many.”
8×8’s MD EMEA Jamie Snaddon said Wavenet and Daisy were two highly valued partners of 8×8, and his company extended its sincerest congratulations on the merger.
“We are excited about this merger’s potential and look forward to strengthening our robust relationships with both companies. Together, we aim to continue delivering exceptional services and innovative solutions to our customers. Here’s to a successful partnership ahead.”
