SMS Systems Maintenance and Curvature to merge

SMS Systems Maintenance Services, Inc., a global market leader in IT data centre lifecycle services, and Curvature LLC, an industry leader in new and pre-owned network hardware and IT infrastructure services, have announced a definitive agreement under which the two companies will merge.

Tuesday, 24th January 2017 Posted 7 years ago in by Phil Alsop

With highly complementary product and service portfolios that serve adjacent market segments, the combined company will provide a broad range of IT networking and data centre services, products and solutions to organisations of all sizes around the world. With more than $500M in combined revenue and over 2,000 employees, the combined company is committed to accelerating innovation in its client solutions across both hardware and service offerings and will make significant investments in sales and marketing.

SMS' and Curvature's capabilities have been recognised by diversified customers worldwide and leading industry analyst firms. In March 2016, both organizations were independently identified as “Top Performers” in a competitive landscape report issued by Gartner, entitled, “Leveraging Third-Party Maintenance Providers for Data Centre and Network Maintenance Cost Optimisation, North America.” Following the transaction, both companies will execute on a unified mission to deliver the world’s best customer experiences within their sector globally.

“The SMS and Curvature organisations share a similar strategic vision and service philosophy that make this merger exciting for the combined company’s global client base and team members,” said John Wozniak, CEO of SMS. “The market awareness and demand for independent IT support and hardware solution providers continues to grow as organisations seek flexibility and control over their IT infrastructure. We are thrilled for the SMS | CURVATURE platform and enhanced ability to solve client needs.”

“With our similar backgrounds and shared focus on innovation, performance and customers, Curvature welcomes the opportunity to join forces with SMS,” said Mike Sheldon, CEO of Curvature. “Our combined strengths will create a global provider of IT solutions, with unparalleled products and services that will deliver value to organisations of all sizes worldwide.”

Partners Group, the global private markets investment manager and majority shareholder of SMS | CURVATURE on behalf of its clients, is supporting the merger. "SMS and Curvature are highly complementary to each other and there is significant industrial logic in their combination,” said Joel Schwartz, partner and head of private equity Americas at Partners Group. “We believe this merger creates the 'category killer' in IT asset lifecycle services, with a global platform and best-in-class service and hardware offerings, as well as expertise across network, server and storage devices.”

Following the transaction, the combined company will assume the name SMS | CURVATURE with more specific branding decisions to be made at a later date. John Wozniak will assume the role of CEO for SMS | CURVATURE and Mike Sheldon will take on the role of president and chief commercial officer.