July 19 (Reuters) – Private equity firm Centerbridge Partners is preparing to sell Ahead Inc in a deal that could value the enterprise cloud solutions provider more than $ 3 billion including debt, according to people familiar with the matter.
Centerbridge interviewed banks to hire a financial advisor for the sale and is expected to launch a process next summer, sources said.
Chicago -based Ahead is expected to generate $ 2.5 billion in revenue this year, up from $ 2.2 billion in 2021, with annual revenues before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of more than $ 230 million, sources added.
Register today for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com
Sources requested anonymity because the matter is confidential. A spokesman for Centerbridge declined to comment.
Centerbridge acquired a majority stake in Ahead from buyout firm Court Square for $ 1.3 billion in August 2020. At that time, Berkshire Partners also acquired a minority stake in Ahead.
Ahead has expanded its capabilities to enterprise cloud infrastructure management, monitoring and analytics services, serving large businesses including Lowe’s Companies Inc (LOW.N) and Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O).
By partnering with cloud-based software companies including ServiceNow Inc (NOW.N) and VMware Inc (VMW.N), Ahead benefited from accelerated cloud deployment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the ownership of Centerbridge, Ahead also grew through acquisitions, including the acquisition of data and analytics consultant Vertical Trail in 2021, and IT solutions provider vCORE Technology Partners in March 2022.
Presidio Inc, another IT service firm backed by buyout firm BC Partners, is also running a sale process that could get a valuation of $ 4 billion, Reuters reported earlier this month.
read more
Register today for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com
Reporting by Krystal Hu in New York, further reporting by Chibuike Ough in New York Editing by Matthew Lewis
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
.