Spirit eyes MSP market with $2.3 million acquisition

Telecommunications company Spirit has forked out $2.6 million to acquire Bigscreensound, trading as Arinda IT, in a deal that will see the company expand its service offering into the fast-growing managed service provider (MSP) sector.

The acquisition will enhance Spirit's existing product and service offering to its current SME customer base, as well as providing Spirit with greater access and focus to attractive vertical markets in hospitality and healthcare.

The acquisition of Arinda IT is expected to be highly earnings accretive for Spirit with a $2.2 million annual revenue run-rate, solid YoY revenue growth of 16%, 12 staff members across Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Tweed Heads and Byron Bay, and more than 300 customers across the country.

Established in 2002, Arinda IT primarily serviced the hospitality industry with in-room Internet billing systems and Internet kiosks.

It has since expanded into fully managed IT services including data security and protection, Microsoft Office 365 management, business wi-fi solutions, network implementation and disaster recovery services, all of which will be continued as part of Spirit's new service offering.

Spirit managing director Geoff Neate says the acquisition of Arinda IT was an exciting one as the company continues to expand rapidly in both network and service offering, and cementing its position as a major player in the telecommunications market.

"This acquisition brings to Spirit an instantly accretive expansion into Managed Services and the opportunity to diversify our product and service offering to our growing customer base," says Neate.

"This marks Spirit's third acquisition in as many months and is an exciting foray into the complementary sector of managed services. Arinda has a smart team that has demonstrated its ability to grow its top line in a disciplined and well-executed manner.

Arinda IT CEO Ben Smith adds, "Arinda has worked with Spirit for a number of years, and we are excited by the opportunity to work closer towards our growth targets.

"The Arinda team will become part of a bigger company and with that brings bigger opportunities. We become Spirit's first MSP and can see the great opportunities for our customers, employees and shareholders.