CLEARLAKE CAPITAL BACKED TOLT SOLUTIONS ACQUIRES THE UNITY MANAGED NETWORK SERVICES DIVISION FROM IPASS
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TOLT SOLUTIONS, THE PREEMINENT SOLUTIONS AND MANAGED SERVICES PROVIDER TO THE RETAIL INDUSTRY, ADDS MANAGED NETWORKING CAPABILITIES TO ITS WORLD‐CLASS SERVICE OFFERING
Greenville, SC (July 1, 2014) – Tolt Solutions, Inc. (“Tolt”), backed by Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. (“Clearlake”), today announced that it has acquired the Unity Managed Network Services division (“Unity”), a leading provider of retail and distributed enterprise network design, implementation, and managed services, from iPass Inc. As a result of the acquisition, Tolt will now offer managed network and security services to its extensive retail customer base.
“I am excited about the momentum that Tolt has in the marketplace and the opportunities that this acquisition brings to both our customers and our associates,” said Keith Bradley, Chairman and CEO of Tolt. “Tolt’s best‐in‐class, in‐store solutions, combined with Unity’s managed network services, will now provide our customers with an enhanced, scalable offering. We remain committed to ensuring our customers remain ahead of the demands of today’s consumer.”
The acquisition of Unity builds on Tolt’s significant engineering expertise, and the addition of Unity’s network operations center and experienced team will allow Tolt to remotely monitor in‐store technology. This proactive service will further enhance Tolt’s real‐time data solutions and preventative maintenance to its customers that rely on Tolt for their mission critical technology. Tolt will now employ more than 1,000 experienced IT consultants and continue to serve over 55,000 customer locations in North America.
Corey Fischer, VP and General Manager of Unity, said, “This is the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Unity, our customers, partners, and associates. Together, the combined teams, resources, services and solutions will position Tolt to further capitalize on the rapidly growing market demands for enhanced network solutions within the distributed enterprise and retail markets. This is a unique opportunity to improve our position in the market, reach our potential as a business, and better serve all of our customers.”
Tolt continues to grow its capabilities, designing and installing innovative technology and enabling remote monitoring and maintenance to serve its customers in adapting to an evolving retail environment. As a proactive leader and IT expert, Tolt will continue to build solutions to help achieve end‐user satisfaction for retailers.
“The acquisition of Unity represents an exciting opportunity to expand Tolt’s managed networking services capabilities, which are critical to retailers’ in‐store operations and for creating differentiated omni‐channel experiences for customers,” said Prashant Mehrotra and James Pade of Clearlake. “We believe that the acquisition uniquely positions Tolt as a comprehensive provider of total store solutions and demonstrates our continued commitment to support the Company’s growth as a leading platform in the retail IT services segment.”
Blackstone Advisory Partners L.P. served as financial advisor to iPass, and Piper Jaffray served as financial advisor to Tolt and Clearlake.
ABOUT TOLT SOLUTIONS, INC.
Tolt is a leading retail‐focused IT expert, delivering innovative technology solutions and managed services for your business both today and tomorrow. Celebrating over 40 years of innovation, we identify, define, deploy, and manage IT solutions that drive increased sales, lowers costs, and improve overall customer satisfaction. Our comprehensive service offering and national footprint provides customers with a single point‐of‐contact for their in‐store technology needs. For more information, please visit our website www.toltsolutions.com.
ABOUT CLEARLAKE CAPITAL GROUP
Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. is a private investment firm focused on special situations and private equity investments such as corporate divestitures, recapitalizations, buyouts, reorganizations, and other equity investments. Clearlake seeks to partner with world‐class management teams by providing patient, long‐term capital and operational expertise to invest in dynamic businesses. Clearlake currently manages approximately $1.4 billion of equity capital, and Clearlake’s founding principals have led over 70 investments totaling more than $3 billion of capital in sectors including business services, communication, consumer products/retail, defense/public safety, energy/power, healthcare, industrials, media, software and technology. For more information, please visit www.clearlakecapital.com.
ABOUT IPASS INC.
iPass enables business travelers to stay connected by providing them with costeffective and convenient global Wi‐Fi access across smartphones, tablets and laptops. Founded in 1996, iPass (NASDAQ: IPAS) is the world’s largest commercial Wi‐Fi network, covering over 120 countries and territories and selling to over 700 large corporations and telecom service providers around the world. Through its cloudbased delivery model, iPass connects business travelers to over 2.7 million commercial grade hotspots in airports, airplanes, hotels and public areas along with access to millions of additional community hotspots. With the growing need for fast, high bandwidth connectivity, iPass lets business travelers stay close to what matters most while on the road including access to video, unified communications, web conferencing and other cloud based apps. For more information, please visit: www.iPass.com and the iPass blog, Smarter Connections.
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FOR CLEARLAKE
Owen Blicksilver Public Relations, Inc.
Kristin Celauro, [email protected], (732) 433-5200
Jennifer Hurson, [email protected], (845) 507-0571