Charlesbank Capital Partners to acquire Six Degrees Group

6DG was formed in June 2011 and has grown both organically and through acquisition to become a truly converged managed services provider delivering cloud, colo, data and unified communications solutions to the UK mid-market.

Charlesbank is a Boston-based mid-market private equity firm with over $3 billion of capital under management. The investment is the culmination of Charlesbank’s efforts to establish a platform investment in the UK tech sector, premised on the conviction that attractive opportunities exist to consolidate the space and capitalise on market growth. Post-acquisition, 6DG will benefit from substantial additional capital to fund the company’s ambitious M&A programme.

Alastair Mills, CEO of 6DG, commented: “Today, almost four years since the founding of Six Degrees, is an exciting day for our company. We are delighted to have delivered excellent returns to Penta during its ownership and we thank the team for supporting our original vision. Now we are looking forward to working with Charlesbank to establish Six Degrees as the leading mid-market converged managed services provider, and we have ambitious plans to achieve this through both acquisitive and organic growth.”

Mills pointed to Charlesbank’s track record of supporting leading growth companies in the sector, noting that the firm invested in Zayo in 2009 just two years after it was founded, and has been involved in the company’s growth from $200 million to over $1.3 billion of annualised revenue. “Benefitting from Charlesbank’s expertise, we intend to disrupt and redefine an industry that is ripe for consolidation and innovation,” continued Mills. “The 6DG management team is thrilled to have the opportunity to continue leading the growth of this company in partnership with Charlesbank. I am confident that we will achieve great things together in the coming years.”

Michael Choe, Managing Director and President of Charlesbank, said, “Having spent close to a year getting to know Alastair and his team, we have tremendous respect for them and strong conviction in the attractive business model they have built. As with Zayo, we see significant opportunity for 6DG to consolidate the fragmented landscape and drive equity value creation in the process. We are very excited about our partnership with the team at Six Degrees.”

Steven Scott, Partner at Penta, concluded: “We are very happy to have concluded our investment in 6DG with a strong return for our shareholders. On behalf of Penta and its investors, I would like to thank all at 6DG for their hard work over the past few years. We don’t doubt that the business will continue to deliver excellent results for shareholders and we wish them well.”