Service Express and Park Place tie-up creates major services player

Bringing together Park Place Technologies and Service Express will create a channel organisation that spans the globe with a workforce more than 3,000 strong.

The tie-up was masterminded by Warburg Pincus, which already owned Service Express to work with Temasek, to make the majority investment in Park Place. Charlesbank Capital Partners and GTCR, which have supported Park Place since 2019, will exit as part of the deal.

The deal represents a significant consolidation in the datacentre services market and will create a combined entity with global muscle. The tie-up provides a wider portfolio of services the two outfits can offer customers, with expanded geographical coverage and support for a wider range of technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation tools. The combined operation will serve more than 25,000 customers across the UK, Europe, North America, Asia and South America. 

In terms of executive organisation charts, the plan is that after closing Chris Adams, CEO of Park Place, will become CEO of the combined company, and Ron Alvesteffer, CEO of Service Express, will be director on the combined board.

“The rapid evolution of datacentre technology presents a historic opportunity, and I am confident that bringing together Service Express and Park Place will allow us to capitalise on this moment,” said Adams.

“I am honoured to lead both companies into this next phase of growth. Together, we will combine the global presence, customer-driven culture and employee-centric values of Park Place with the nimble, service-first focus of Service Express, powered by the passion and commitment of our combined employees around the world. We are confident that the combined business will provide significant growth prospects and allow us to better serve our customers.”

In response, Alvesteffer said the tie-up would create opportunities for both its staff and customers: “This combination with Park Place creates growth opportunities for team members at both companies. I am committed to supporting Chris, and am excited and ready to transition to a board director after close. I look forward to combining the employee-first culture of Service Express, known for delivering outstanding service, with the global presence of Park Place.” 

Service Express operates a datacentre in Bedford, while Park Place Technologies is also a familiar name to UK channel watchers, having operated in the country for the past decade.

Park Place has bolstered its position in the UK through mergers and acquisition (M&A), picking up CIS, a managed service provider (MSP) that specialises in delivering and supporting hybrid multicloud solutions for legacy IBM systems back in May. In October 2023, the firm sealed the acquisition of Derby-based IT solutions provider Xuper to add more geographic reach and access expertise around maintenance and professional services.

The messages from Park Place management have repeatedly identified the UK as a growth market and a key area for investment. The tie-up underlined the ongoing interest from the private equity world in channel companies and added to a growing list of M&A moves that have been made in the past few weeks.

The past month has also seen ANS buy Makutu, Advania bolster its position in the Nordic market through acquiring Gompute, and Seroda Ventures taking a majority Stake in Google premier partner Evonence.