Kian Capital Exits The Purple Guys to Ntiva to Form a Market-Leading Pure-Play MSP

Kian Capital Partners, a lower-middle-market-focused private investment firm, is pleased to announce the recent exit of its investment in The Purple Guys through a sale to Ntiva, Inc., a portfolio company of PSP Capital. Kian’s blueprint for enduring value and commitment to building genuine partnerships with company owners were instrumental in driving a successful outcome. Kian partnered with the executive leadership team to grow the company from a regional operation with a single location to a scaled platform serving hundreds of clients across eight core markets in six states. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Purple Guys is a leading Managed IT Services Provider (“MSP”) to small- and mid-sized businesses (“SMB”). Kian, along with its co-investor ParkSouth Ventures, made its initial investment in the company in January 2020 with a majority recapitalization and merger of Enterprise Computing Services (“ECS”) and My IT. In 2021, ECS / My IT completed the acquisitions of The Purple Guys and Network Technologies and subsequently rebranded to The Purple Guys, reflecting the evolution of the company and its promise to deliver secure, reliable and cost-effective IT services to the SMB market. Following the rebranding, the company completed and integrated seven additional acquisitions, creating a scaled regional MSP with a comprehensive solution mix capable of addressing complex client needs.

“Since the beginning of our partnership, my leadership team and I have been aligned with Kian on our collective goal to build the leading IT managed services provider to the SMB community,” commented The Purple Guys CEO Kevin Cook. “I could not be more pleased with Kian’s partnership approach, collaboration and support as we have expanded the business into new markets and accelerated growth across the organization. Kian has been a value-added partner, dedicating the capital, resources, board-level guidance and time required to support our growth and to allow us to achieve our collective goals. I am thankful for Kian’s partnership, and I look forward to The Purple Guys’ continued success as we begin our new journey with Ntiva.”

With Kian’s backing, the company completed 10 strategic acquisitions, building density within key existing markets and expanding service capabilities across the central U.S. To underpin the company’s growth, The Purple Guys recruited top-level executives, including a CFO and SVP of Sales, and internally promoted a highly experienced COO. In addition, The Purple Guys expanded operations from one market to eight offices across six states and grew its employee base by more than four times, creating opportunities for advancement and adding valuable technical resources to better serve The Purple Guys’ loyal client base.

“From the outset of our partnership with Kevin and The Purple Guys team, our collective goal has been to build a leading MSP platform for the SMB market through a disciplined acquisition strategy and sustainable organic growth,” said Kian Partner Matt Levenson. “Kevin and the team have worked tirelessly to execute this strategy with great success, and we thank each member of the team for their contributions. As we look ahead, this combination with Ntiva establishes one of the largest pure-play MSPs serving the SMB space. We are proud to have partnered with Kevin and the entire team at The Purple Guys, and we look forward to following the company in its next chapter of growth.”

Harris Williams LLC served as exclusive financial advisor, Robinson Bradshaw served as legal advisor and FORVIS served as accounting and tax advisor to The Purple Guys.

About The Purple Guys

The Purple Guys is a leading provider of comprehensive managed IT services to small- and mid-sized businesses. We focus on our clients' IT so they don't have to. As trusted members of our clients’ teams, we work hard on their behalf to help their businesses grow and succeed by ensuring secure, reliable and cost-effective IT systems. The Purple Guys has offices in Shreveport and New Orleans, Louisiana; Kansas City, Kansas; St. Louis, Missouri; Austin, Dallas and Houston, Texas; Indianapolis, Indiana and Valparaiso, Indiana, employing more than 280 highly trained team members serving businesses throughout the Central and Southern U.S. For more information, visit www.purpleguys.com.

About Kian Capital Partners

At Kian, we forge partnerships to ignite growth and build enduring value. Our goal is to provide flexible financial resources and additional operational horsepower to scale lower-middle-market businesses, realize aspirations and deliver long-term investment returns through genuine partnership. Proud to be recognized on Inc.’s Founder-Friendly Investors list for four consecutive years, Kian is a private investment firm with $825 million of capital under management and a focus on four core industry sectors: consumer, services, value-added distribution and specialty manufacturing. Our team of seasoned investors has over 100 years of collective experience providing transformational capital solutions and board-level strategic and operational guidance to founder/owner operated businesses. To learn more, visit www.kiancapital.com.

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