MSP Merger: Coronavirus No Obstacle To Datapath’s Bright Bear Buy
Originally Posted on CRN.com
A couple of California-based managed service providers didn‘t let the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic stop an acquisition. Datapath has closed its acquisition of Irvine, Calif.-based Bright Bear Technology Solutions, ending a year-long journey that, because of the pandemic, saw most of the negotiations being done via Zoom meetings and the final contract signed via DocuSign.
The acquisition closed July 1. No dollar value was given for the acquisition.
The move to acquire Bright Bear started off with a relatively simple plan to grow Datapath‘s geographical reach into southern California while expanding its cloud and security capabilities, said David Darmstandler (pictured), CEO and co-founder of Datapath, a Modesto, Calif.-based MSP with a strong focus on security via its own SOC, or security operations center.
Darmstandler, his partner and Chief Operating Officer James Bates, and Bright Bear President Nathan Phinney started talking about a year ago after a third-party consultant introduced the two companies to each other, Darmstandler told CRN.
“We met, had lunch, the whole dating thing,” he said. ”Talks progressed. We started putting a structure together. But the contracts and LOI (letter of intent) took place when COVID-19 hit. We had to ask if everything still felt right, and then we decided to continue. We felt the current owners were straight-forward.”