Dive Brief:
- Technology services distributor Telarus agreed to receive an investment from private equity firm Snowhawk Partners, the company announced Thursday. Snowhawk's investment will close by the end of 2026. Telarus' current minority investor Columbia Capital will keep a stake in the firm, the company announced.
- Telarus CEO and Cofounder Adam Edwards will continue to lead the company alongside Chief Commercial Officer Richard Murray, and both will "retain substantial ownership stakes" in Telarus, according to the announcement.
- Telarus will use the investment to expand its sales engineering bench, digital tools and vendor portfolio. "We're reloading to accelerate, and [partners] can expect the upcoming years to be the same mission, same people, same familiar culture, but always with an eye toward their success," Edwards told Channel Dive.
Dive Insight:
When Telarus accepted a minority investment from Columbia in 2020, fewer private equity firms were looking at the TSD market than there are today — and more TSDs. Edwards said leaders at Telarus and Columbia agreed that the market was primed for consolidation and put money toward that thesis.
"We had conviction there was going to be a TSD roll-up," Edwards said.
With Columbia's help, Telarus acquired multiple TSDs, including Florida-based firms TelAdvocate and TCG in 2022. It also developed a capital program for its technology advisor partners, as PE-backed roll-ups courted Telarus' top TAs. Telarus also rebuilt its digital portal and tools, and plans to unveil AI-oriented tools, Edwards said.
Four-year-old Snowhawk is a relatively small PE firm, managing about $2.5 billion in assets compared to Columbia's $9 billion. Snowhawk focuses on digital infrastructure companies, including CleanArc Data Centers. It recently sold financial management software firm ProsperOps to Thoma Bravo-backed Flexera.
Snowhawk's position in the infrastructure market gave it a window into how the TSD and TA models were expanding, Edwards said. The firm noticed a shift in vendor sales strategy from direct sellers to an agency-based motion with third-party partners.
"That's been the signal to these investors: 'Hey, there's something happening here, and it's getting bigger, and it's getting momentum, and we need to be a part of it,'" Edwards said.
Three TSDs have recapitalized in the last year — Bridgepointe, Avant and Telarus — and in each case, the original vendor decided to stick around.
"What Columbia does is bet on winners, and that's what you're seeing them do," Edwards said. "Any time you maintain an investment, you're making a decision. If I had the decision to make today at this price, would I invest? And their answer is 100% yes."
