Private equity firms exit Node4 as new investment partner revealed

Private equity firms LDC and Bowmark Capital have sold their share in Derby-based managed services provider Node4 to Providence Equity Partners.

The move follows Node4’s £15m acquisition of Starcom Technologies, the MSP division of K3 Business Technologies Group.

“We are excited to be working with Providence as Node4 continues to build momentum and swiftly moves on to the next stage of its ambitious growth journey,” said Andrew Gilbert, founder and CEO of Node4. “We will continue down our well-proven path of organic growth, building on Node4’s best-in-class systems and supplementing this with exciting strategic acquisitions. I am grateful for Bowmark’s help and support over the last five years, which has been instrumental in supporting Node4’s expansion and accelerating the company’s growth.”

Andrew Tisdale, senior managing director at Providence, said: “Node4 has an outstanding management team and its core focus on exceptional service has continued to deliver impressive organic growth. Recent acquisitions and an ambitious growth plan add to Node4’s appeal as an investment opportunity. Michael Vervisch, Managing Director at Providence, added: “We are excited to support Andrew and his team in the next stage of the company’s journey and believe that Providence will provide the catalyst the company needs to scale in line with management’s ambitious vision.”

Stephen Delaney, partner at Bowmark, said: “Since 2016, Bowmark has worked closely with Andrew Gilbert and his team to broaden the company’s product offering, enhance the business platform and accelerate growth. The exceptional quality of Node4’s people, infrastructure and technical expertise will ensure that the company continues its strong record of success with its new financial partner in what is a dynamic and rapidly growing market.”

Node4 was advised by Arma Partners, alongside Pinsent Mason (legal), PwC (vendor tax and financial), Deloitte (tax due diligence and structuring), and Liberty Partners (management).

Providence was advised by DC Advisory and Raymond James, alongside Weil Gotshal & Manges (legal), FTI Consulting (financial), KPMG (tax and structuring) and CMA Strategy Consulting (commercial).