One Equity Partners to Acquire MCL Computer & Zubehör

New investment to help build a leading full service provider in digital transformation and secure solutions

NEW YORK – MARCH 24, 2020 – One Equity Partners (“OEP”), a leading middle market private equity firm, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire MCL Computer & Zubehör GmbH (“MCL” or “the Company”), a leading provider of IT consulting services and hardware and software reseller. MCL’s management team rolled over a substantial portion of their ownership interests and retained a significant stake in the Company. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Böblingen, Germany, MCL provides a wide range of IT services, including networking, workspace, security, IoT, cloud, support and managed services from seven locations in Germany and Austria. The Company has more than 160 employees and holds premium partnerships with major vendors, such as HP, HPE and Lenovo.

“MCL is well positioned to meet the strong demand for next-generation cloud, digital infrastructure and IoT solutions, supported by its strong vendor relationships and unmatched technical expertise,” said Vittorio Palladino, Vice President at OEP. “This transaction reflects OEP’s ability to structure transactions with founder-owned companies that enable them to expand across the value chain and pursue new growth opportunities both organically and acquisitive. MCL’s value is especially evident in the current, challenging business environment as they provide clients with the systems and tools needed to ensure working remotely is seamless and productive,” added Dr. Jörg Zirener, Senior Managing Director at OEP.

“Our partnership with OEP will help strengthen our ability to manage complex IT infrastructure challenges for our clients, and also creates new opportunities for our growing and talented staff,” says Stefan Voß, Managing Shareholder of MCL. “Together, we have identified strategic acquisition opportunities to position MCL as a full solution provider for digital transformation, supporting our customers in their migration of data and systems to scalable, economic and easy-to-manage hybrid IT solutions.”

The German hardware IT VAR market—estimated to exceed €20 billion in 2019—is highly fragmented with a high number of small and niche resellers and service providers. The market is expected to grow as the amount of data generated is continuously increasing and the gradual shift to cloud and hybrid cloud setups drives complexity as well as the need to manage the increase of cybersecurity threats. In addition, there is an ongoing trend to flexible working solutions such as “work from home,” or “bring your own device” that need to be set up, managed and monitored.

OEP has strong experience investing in and building IT consulting and software businesses, including Computer Design & Integration, a leading U.S. provider of IT infrastructure hardware and software, consulting and managed services; Lutech, an Italian IT system integration and solutions provider; and, Crayon, a Norwegian software and cloud specialist, among others.

About One Equity Partners
OEP is a middle-market private equity firm focused on the industrial, healthcare, and technology sectors in North America and Europe. The firm builds market-leading companies by identifying and executing transformative business combinations. OEP is a trusted partner with a differentiated investment process, a broad and senior team, and an established track record generating long-term value for its partners. Since 2001, the firm has completed more than 180 transactions worldwide. OEP, founded in 2001, spun out of JP Morgan in 2015. The firm has offices in New York, Chicago, and Frankfurt. For more information, please visit www.oneequity.com

About MCL Beteiligungs GmbH (“MCL”)

MCL is a leading provider of IT solutions for hybrid datacenter infrastructures, secure networks and the modern, personal workspace. Founded in 1992 by Lars Martin Mack, MCL is a valued advisor and partner for more than 3,500 midsized companies and public institutions, as well as the health care and retail industry. Continuously growing year-over-year, MCL generated a revenue of 111 MEUR in 2019. 7 branch offices, 165 co-workers and a proprietary customer engagement software enable MCL to focus on customer success and get the crucial jobs done.

Press contact for One Equity Partners:

Kelly Holman
Stanton
646-502-3509
KHolman@StantonPRM.com