Hosting firm swallowed in £16.5m deal
Salford Quays-based eCommerce hosting provider Sonassi has been acquired by AIM-listed cloud services specialist iomart in a £16.5m deal.
Sonassi specialises in providing high performance, scalable and secure solutions to support complex, high traffic and high value websites using Magento and Oro technology.
Its customers include international brands, UK high street retailers and a range of prominent, fast-growing fashion websites.
A number of other leading cloud services firms are understood to have been circling for the company.
Sonassi was founded by Manchester entrepreneur Benjamin Lessani in 2008. Originally the company specialised in building websites based on the Magento eCommerce application, however in recent years it has focused on providing the hosting after developing its own operating system, known as MageStack, which was engineered specifically for Magento and Oro Commerce.
Lessani said: “As part of iomart we will have access to the best infrastructure, connectivity, and skillset there is. It’s a very exciting move for us and we’re looking forward to working with Angus and his team to create a market-leading eCommerce hosting division.”
Sonassi is the second acquisition iomart has made in Manchester in recent years. In 2012 it bought Melbourne Server Hosting which has been fully integrated into and recently re-branded as iomart.
Grant Thornton corporate finance partner Peter Terry assisted by Daniel Brecker advised the vendors of Salford-based Sonassi.
Terry said: “Sonassi is a best-in-class software business at the cutting edge of a vibrant eCommerce sector. There was high demand for this business, leading to an excellent result for its entrepreneurial management team.”
Angus MacSween, chief executive of Scotland-based iomart, said: “We believe eCommerce is an area of the market which provides a good opportunity for future growth and we plan to use the acquisition of both of these operations to firmly establish iomart as a provider of choice in this significant market sector.”
