Acuative Deal For Thrupoint International Business Expands Solution Provider Into Europe, Middle East

Acuative bought the international divisions of Thrupoint in a deal that gives the global solution provider reach into Europe and the Middle East and comes on the heels of the March buy of Thrupoint's U.S. division.

Both acquisitions were for undisclosed amounts and Acuative will integrate Thrupoint under the Acuative brand going forward, the company said.

Fairfield, N.J.-based Acuative already operated as a global company prior to the deal, but the acquisition gives it reach into Europe and the Middle East, where it did not have a direct presence before. The company will now have physical offices in Uxbridge, England and Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

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The international expansion gives Acuative, formerly Telsource, two competitive advantages, CEO Vince Sciarra said.

First, the company can use its own employees abroad to service multinational clients previously serviced by partners. The benefit of that, Sciarra said, is that it means more consistent services globally. Second, the acquisition brings some local, regional clients into the Acuative customer base to balance out multinational clients.

"It's really expanding it globally, is really what the play is," Sciarra said.

Europe, in particular, was an "obvious gap" in global coverage for Acuative, Sciarra said. A European presence means greater support for banking, insurance and some manufacturing clients. The Middle East addition opens the door to new industry verticals for Acuative.

"It's exciting times," Sciarra said.

The latest deal comes on the heels of Acuative's purchase of Thrupoint's U.S. division, which added a consulting business to the company's fold, Sciarra said at the time of the deal. The integration of the business continues and is progressing well, he said.

Acuative previously focused more on the technology, services and operations side of the equation, and the U.S. deal helped it to "get ahead of the curve" with a more consultative approach to clients, Sciarra said at the time. The acquisition of the international divisions is no different, Sciarra said Thursday.

"When I see the two portfolios together, I really do believe that there is a big pickup in services. There's way more opportunity going at customers with a full portfolio," Sciarra said. "It's leading with the consulting side, trying to get higher and further inside of our clients and obviously try to acquire new customers based on our new portfolio."

Being able to go deeper with clients and service them better means that Sciarra predicts the acquisition will add more to the company's portfolio than just another source of revenue.

"I really believe that taking the two revenues and adding [them] together should multiply and give us some sort of added benefit," Sciarra said.

There are not likely to be any more acquisitions from Acuative for around a year as it works to integrate the international division, Sciarra said.

PUBLISHED JULY 17, 2014