July M&A activity in the services industry

IT, HR, Digital, PMO, engineering, ESG, consulting and marketing services sectors (SCD Advisory's focus) enjoying strong M&A activity in Australia.

1.??????GetIT, APAC’s leading marketing agency specialising in B2B technology has sold to Hotwire, the global technology communications agency under Enero Group

GetIT focuses on crafting compelling stories for global B2B enterprise technology, cloud and regional telecom businesses. They work with clients such as AWS, Telekom Malaysia, StarHub, Oracle, Fujitsu, Google Cloud, Orange Business Services, Palo Alto Networks to provide strategies, blueprints, services, martech, products and programs to create end-to-end marketing success. Through this acquisition, GetIT will extend its client services towards brand strategy, reputation management and public relations through its offices in Singapore, India, Malaysia, and Japan.

2.??????MYOB acquires Endeavour Solutions and Addax Business Solutions practices

Business management software platform MYOB is continuing on its acquisition journey buying the Greentree and MYOB Advanced practices of Melbourne-based Endeavour Solutions Australia and Perth-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) specialist Addax Business Solutions.?The acquisition deal will see Endeavour Solutions Australia’s team of ERP and business intelligence specialists and Addax Business Solutions’ team of ERP and business solutions consultants join MYOB’s enterprise division. This adds more capability and expertise to its Greentree Centre of Excellence and grows MYOB’s in-house team of Advanced specialists. In addition, Addax's move to join MYOB will also provide it with the ability to offer cloud hosting services for its Greentree customers. MYOB general manager for enterprise Kim Clarke said Endeavour Solutions Australia delivered high quality advice, development services and customer support to the mid-market.

3.??????Edge Environment adds creative flair to its mix with Goodness deal

After working together for around two years, sustainability consultancy Edge Environment and impact agency Goodness are taking their cooperation to the next level – with Goodness now becoming a full subsidiary of Edge Environment. The acquisition sees a Sydney-based creative team of around five professionals (according to LinkedIn) join Edge Environment’s team in Australia, lifting its headcount to roughly 90. Founded in 2008, Edge Environment helps clients with capabilities including ESG and sustainability strategy, carbon and climate resilience, sustainable and ethical procurement, sustainability leadership and transformation,?circular economy?and lifecycle thinking. The firm operates with three offices in Australia, one in New Zealand, and two further away, in Chile and the United States. While Edge Environment has a solid base in advisory, analytical rigour and domain expertise, working with strategists, consultants and technical experts, the consulting firm up until now did not have an in-house creative team. This is where the deal with Goodness comes in.

4.??????Fujitsu announces plans to acquire Asia-Pacific’s largest independent ServiceNow consultancy

Fujitsu Limited and?Fujitsu Australia?announced acquisition plans for Asia-Pacific region’s largest independent ServiceNow-specialist, Enable Professional Services. Enable Professional Services will operate as a stand-alone Fujitsu company for the foreseeable future, under the continued leadership of Bruce Hara. It will be re-branded ‘Enable, a Fujitsu company’. With the acquisition of Enable Professional Services, Fujitsu will gain market-leading and award-winning expertise and experience to deliver ServiceNow advisory, consulting, and delivery services for customers across the region. The company’s ServiceNow capabilities and digital transformation specialist skills directly support Fujitsu’s portfolio transformation and will bolster future offerings for “Business Applications,” one of seven Key Focus Areas (KFAs) under Fujitsu’s new global Uvance business brand. Enable Professional Services currently operates in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Philippines, and India.

5.??????Randstad to acquire Finite Group in Australia and New Zealand

Acquisition further strengthens Randstad’s position as a market leader in technology recruitment and professional services in Australia and New Zealand and will be a strong addition to the company’s current service offering. By doing so, Randstad will take another step forward in supporting more people and organizations by combining the power of today’s technology with our passion for people. Randstad NV, the global leader in the HR services industry, announces that Randstad Australia has signed an agreement to acquire the Finite Group in Australia & New Zealand. The Finite Group specializes in technology recruitment, IT consulting and a broad array of IT and Digital professional services. Leveraging an extensive network of both contractors and permanently employed technical staff, Finite Group provides a wide range of services and capabilities to its significant customer base. In 2021, the Finite Group helped over 3,000 candidates find new roles in Australia and New Zealand. The completion of the acquisition is subject to several conditions, which parties expect to be fulfilled in the coming weeks.

6.??????Churchill joins international management consultancy Sia Partners

French-origin management consulting firm Sia Partners has entered Australia’s consultancy scene with the acquisition of Churchill, a Perth-based player with around 45 consultants and staff. From its base in Paris, Sia Partners has been on a global expansion path over the past seven years, growing from a 1,000-strong mainly European consultancy to a worldwide player with over 2,400 consultants at present. Acquisitions have been an integral part of its expansion. Sia Partners has closed?around fifteen deals?since 2016, with today’s transaction in Australia marking the firm’s debut in Oceania. Founded in 2002 by David Prendiville and Todd Mairs, Churchill works primarily in the energy and mining sectors, and also for major public sector players in Western Australia. The firm (revenue: $14 million) provides management, transformation and project delivery services.

7.??????Cequent Projects NZ joins TSA

Cequent is a New Zealand business with a diverse portfolio of work across various sectors.?Caleb Ballin?founded Cequent in 2008 to reduce project management’s complexity and deliver a more client and solution focused approach. With Cequent on board, TSA expands its New Zealand offering further into the South Island with offices in Auckland, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Wanaka and Queenstown. This partnership will create opportunities for our clients, our business and people regionally through our expanded network and resources.

8.??????So Media Group’s acquisitive run continues with purchase of AmpersandMC

Digital media publisher and agency So Media Group (SMG) has strengthened its client services capabilities after snapping up fellow Perth-based marketing specialist AmpersandMC for an undisclosed fee. The deal marks SMG’s third strategic acquisition in the last 12 months after it acquired Northover Media in May and Carma The Social Chameleon last September, as the business accelerates its national expansion by adding new media platforms to its portfolio. Founded by Alison Balch in 2014, Subiaco-based AmpersandMC is a full service marketing agency with a record of delivering local and national strategic marketing campaigns, communications and events for a stable of retainer and project clients.

9.??????Global rail and roads leader SENER expands in the Australian market with a deal to acquire infrastructure consultancy Tactix

Sener has signed an agreement to acquire 60 per cent of Tactix, with the other 40 per cent to remain with current Australian shareholders. The acquisition means SENER will consolidate its presence in Australia, where it has operated an office since 2016, working on major railway projects such as Melbourne Metro, Cross River Railway in Brisbane and roads projects such as West Gate Tunnel in Melbourne. The agreement is subject to customary approvals, including by the Australian Government. . Tactix has operated from its head office in Sydney since 2012 as a consultancy for the transport and infrastructure sectors, in project execution and resource management. It has grown to a team of 150 consultants offering primarily the delivery of road and rail engineering systems, design, project management and assurance to major transport and infrastructure projects across Australia.? SENER Group, with head office in Bilbao, is an international leader in urban transport, rail and roads. It has 2,700 staff working in aerospace, infrastructure, energy and marine sectors across five continents. It is currently working on major projects in Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, the United States, Mexico and the United Kingdom

10.??Broadbent Financial joins private wealth business of BlueRock

Two months after?acquiring a legal specialist, BlueRock has now added Broadbent Financial to its outfit. Founded in 2008, Broadbent Financial is an advisory firm that offers investment and asset management services to high net worth individuals, families, self-managed super funds and trusts. The Melbourne-based firm bolsters the private asset management business of BlueRock – one of its 11 specialised divisions that work together to provide a wide-ranging professional services offering to its small and mid-sized clients. The deal is the latest in a series of partnerships and (team) mergers over the last 12 months for BlueRock, in line with its strategy to expand its footprint both nationally and internationally over the next 3-5 years.

11.??Efex acquires Albury-based In Touch Office Technology

Regional managed services provider efex has acquired Albury-based hardware and IT support provider In Touch Office Technology. With a team of eight, In Touch provides a range of IT services, remote management and network implementation, as well as a range of PCs, laptops, software solutions and peripherals, with local support and maintenance.?With the new backing of efex, In Touch will remain a local business, retaining all existing employees while expanding its line of services to include in-house voice and data services, which were previously provided by a third party.??Employing over 300 people across 23 locations nation-wide, efex had a small presence in Albury however the acquisition now cements this commitment to the region. In Touch Office Technology has been operating in the Albury Wodonga,Southern NSW and Northern Victoria regions for over 15 years.?

12.??Software Combined buys Perth's Omnitronics

Software aggregator Software Combined has continued to add to its acquisition tally, this time snapping up Perth-based communications system provider Omnitronics.? Established in 1981, Omnitronics is a specialist provider of radio dispatch systems, interoperability and communications management products with offices in Perth, Brisbane and Miami, Florida. Omnitronics also has an international network of distributors and resellers across the US, the UK, Europe, Australia and Asia. Its software-as-a-service (SaaS)-enabled flagship product Omnicore Enterprise Dispatch is used by organisations across public safety, mining, oil and gas, maritime and the urban transport industry sectors.

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