Beech Tree-backed Wavenet bolts on Solar Communications

The development comes shortly after Wavenet secured an €85m refinancing deal from Ares Management and RBS.

Solar CEO John Witty will take a seat on the executive board of the consolidated group and take on a leading role in the integration process.

It is the fourth bolt-on acquisition made by the company under Beech Tree's tenure, following the acquisitions of Swains and Talk Internet in 2017, and APR Telecoms in April this year.

Beech Tree backed the £35m management buyout of Wavenet in 2016, with RBS providing the original debt package to support the transaction.

Company
Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Chippenham, Wiltshire, Solar designs, installs and provides support services for cloud-based communication systems. The company has additional offices in Cardiff, Harlow and Manchester, and has a total headcount of 100. The business generated a turnover of £14.8m and EBITDA of £1.2m in 2016, according to publicly available documents, though it has since acquired Cardiff-headquartered TWL Voice and Data.

People
Beech Tree Private Equity – Paul Franks (managing partner).
Wavenet – Bill Dawson (CEO).
Solar Communications – John Whitty (CEO).

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