One local technology firm is growing its operations with a new acquisition, and its appetite for expansion is not unique, according to a local business broker.
On Jan. 1, Springfield-based JMark Business Solutions Inc. purchased Fayetteville, Ark.-based information technology service provider Comprehensive Technology Services LLC, aka Integris Tech.
Kingsley Group Business Brokers brokered the deal, the terms of which were not disclosed. Kingsley Group broker Scott Axon said the selling group asked to remain anonymous.
JMark President and CEO Thomas Douglas said he started conversations with the Integris owners in early September after he identified the Arkansas market for expansion. Douglas was seeking a service provider in the health care industry in order to add a new type of client to its customer base and new service expertise to its staff.
“(Integris has) some specialists within the medical industry who have a lot of experience supporting that industry, and so we want to take advantage of that knowledge and experience,” Douglas said.
JMark acquired a customized data center, a number of computers and servers, office equipment and more than 50 clients in the transaction.
JMark, which specializes in computer and network management for small to midsize businesses, is moving Integris’ six employees into a 4,400-square-foot office in Fayetteville. With infill under way to meet JMark’s specifications, Douglas said the operations center should be occupied by March and could accommodate up to 20 employees.
“It is totally designed for our kind of environment where real-time response and 24/7 monitoring can truly be realized,” he said.
JMark offers remote network management, server hosting and management, system monitoring and troubleshooting, and computer software and hardware products, backup and support. The company has utilized Microsoft, Cisco and Hewlett-Packard products.
JMark, which Douglas said intends to focus more heavily on the health care, legal, financial, insurance, transportation, education and government sectors, also is planning to open an office in Colorado Springs, Colo., this month. With two new hires in Colorado, JMark will employ 57.
The office expansions come on the heels of JMark’s 2011 Inc. 5000 ranking of fast-growth companies. Based on percentage revenue growth between 2007 and 2010, JMark ranked No. 1,397 and was among 66 privately owned Missouri companies to make the list. JMark grew revenues by 203 percent to $5.8 million in 2010.
Though 2011 financials are not finalized, Douglas expects revenues to exceed $6.4 million. This year, he projects revenue increases of 25 percent to 35 percent.
Axon said the number of transactions brokered by Kingsley Group increased by roughly 10 percent in 2011 compared to 2010, and he projected volume to rise at least 15 percent in 2012.
“Right now is one of the best times we’ve seen to sell a business,” said Axon, a broker with the Kingsley Group since 1995. “There are many buyers in the market. Our current challenge is finding enough good, profitable businesses where it makes sense for the owners to sell.”
Axon said he’s heard from others members of the International Business Brokers Association from across the country that they, too, are seeing an increase in activity.
IBBA Executive Director Steve Bova said while the organization doesn’t compile specific data on the merger and acquisition activity of its members, he said at a recent annual conference attended by a couple hundred IBBA members, the talk was very optimistic.
“I heard a number of people say that things are picking up,” Bova said. “And if the needle is moving forward, that’s a good thing.”[[In-content Ad]]
A Springfield couple launched 24-hour fitness center Iron Knights Strafford; Springfield-based Meridian Title Co. LLC made its debut in Mount Vernon; and a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in conjunction with the grand opening of Render Flooring LLC.
