All Covered Acquires Chicago MSP TechCare

Konica Minolta Business Solutions acquired All Covered in January for an undisclosed amount. Prior to the deal, All Covered was executing an aggressive acquisition strategy, buying a number of smaller MSPs and regional solution providers throughout the country. Last fall All Covered said it planned to make as many as 50 acquisitions of various sizes within the next three years. All Covered President Todd Croteau said once the Konica Minolta deal was completed, his company resumed its acquisition strategy.

"They were a big proponent of our continued expansion, not just in new regions or cities but in regions that we already had a presence in," Croteau told CRN. "As part of a larger organization like Konica Minolta, we're able to target larger companies, which will help us accelerate our plan."

The first such acquisition of the Konica Minolta era was Techcare, an MSP specializing in the K-12 education and small business markets. The company was founded in 1987 and after transitioning toward an MSP model about seven years ago, Techcare grew to become one of the larger MSPs in the Chicago area with more than 40 employees and 100 active managed service clients.

"Our vertical focus on education was very important to Konica Minolta and All Covered," said Techcare CEO Steve Feldman. "Another thing that made this a good deal was that the Chicago area was also important."

Croteau said All Covered had been looking to expand its presence in the Midwest and specifically the Greater Chicago region, which he said was highly fragmented with many different MSPs but no clear leaders. Feldman agreed, saying the Midwest MSP market had become highly competitive in recent years and was currently undergoing some "churn" with several acquisitions and mergers.

Croteau added that going forward, All Covered will be looking to acquire solution providers around $10 million or more in annual revenue as opposed the smaller outfits prior to the Konica Minolta deal. "We have pretty lofty goals as an organization," he said, "and we know we're not going to get there with $1 million acquisitions."