Private Equity Invests In MSP, SD-WAN Specialist QOS Networks -

Private equity firm M/C Partners has invested in QOS Networks, a managed services provider (MSP) and software company that specializes in SD-WAN solutions. Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed, and M/C Partners did not say if the deal involved a majority stake of QOS.

In addition to its SD-WAN initiatives, QOS Networks will "expand into several ancillary areas such as security as a service and end-user network management," the company said in a statement about the private equity backing.

QOS was founded in 2012 and began to develop a network platform for the enterprise. The company now supports customers across 30 countries and 30,000 network devices. QOS's revenue has grown 656% over the last 3 years, according to the 2020 Inc. 5000 list. Actual revenue and profit figures were not disclosed.

On the talent fronty, QOS hired Michael Brennan as VP of channel sales in 2019 to drive partner engagements. And earlier this month, the company hired Tyler Nau as chief operating officer, and Chris Nein as chief revenue officer.

M/C Partners has extensive experience owning and building MSPs. The private equity firm previously invested in Ascend Technologies, Thrive Networks, Involta, Ensono, Fusepoint, Attenda, Denovo, Carbon60 and others, ChannelE2E has previously reported.

M/C Partners Invests in QOS Networks: Executive Perspectives

In a prepared statement about the deal, QOS CEO Frank Cittadino said:

“M/C Partners is the premier partner to enable growth and expanded thought leadership in innovative service companies. Our services and management platform deliver a superior experience to global clients through real-time edge network visibility and control. This investment from M/C Partners underscores the global SD-WAN leadership we’ve built to date and provides incredible opportunity to continue to scale our business.”

Added Travis Keller, a parter at M/C: "

“QOS Networks is a market leader in edge network design and management, with a core focus on SD-WAN. The company has built a great platform, but most of all, they focus on exceeding customer expectations and we are thrilled to partner together. Strong technology and great service is a powerful combination. Our partnership with the leadership team at QOS Networks will improve its platform development and growth trajectory in the near term.”

Noted Gillis Cashman, managing partner at M/C:

“QOS Networks manages a large share of the most complex SD-WAN deployments from the very largest and most sophisticated enterprises. Our partnership with the leadership team at QOS Networks will improve its platform development and growth trajectory in the near term.”

Concluded Brian Perrott, founder of QOS Networks:

“I am proud of the business that we have built, and I look forward to the next chapter of growth. QOS Network’s partnership with M/C Partners gives me great confidence that we will continue to build on our outstanding reputation for delivering managed network solutions through our Intelligent Network Platform and provide our clients the absolute best user experience.”

Private equity activity remains strong across the MSP sector, according to ChannelE2E's daily coverage of deals.