A Tyneside utilities tech provider has been acquired by a major UK infrastructure group in an undisclosed deal.
M Group Services has acquired the trade and assets of Salient Systems Limited, based at Cobalt Business Exchange in North Tyneside, in a deal which includes its proprietary software, 10 staff and client contracts, to add further capabilities to its data management offering. Hertfordshire-based M Group Services is a £1.7bn turnover essential infrastructure services provider operating within water, energy, transport and telecommunication sectors across the UK and Ireland, employing over 10,000 people.
Salient Systems, founded in 2001, is a specialist provider of technology solutions to the UK utilities metering market which has been working with an M Group Services company – Callisto, provides data management to energy suppliers – for a number of years. The relationship between the two companies has been key in recent innovations at Callisto, which has ultimately led to the takeover deal. The deal value has not been revealed.
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New owners M Group Services said the acquisition will enhance a new offering which is being released in 2024. Les Edgar, director at Salient said: “We’ve worked successfully with Callisto, part of M Group Services’ Energy Division, for several years and are excited for our next chapter with them. I’m sure the business will go from strength to strength.We have received excellent support from the teams at Azets and Sintons who have helped us navigate and negotiate the deal. I appreciate the dedication of the teams in managing the process throughout and securing a successful transaction.”
M Group Services chief executive Jim Arnold said: “Acquisitions are a fundamental part of our growth strategy as we continue to enhance the scope and scale of the group’s capabilities. This addition, which will become part of Callisto, will enhance our capability and capacity to provide a unique, market-leading offering to our clients, specifically a market-wide half hourly cettlement service as the industry transitions towards net-zero.”
Azets corporate finance and corporate tax teams in Newcastle advised the Salient management team, alongside Sintons law firm. Steve Plaskitt, Lucy Elliott and Oliver Williams from the corporate finance team worked closely with Alastair Wilson, Claire Smailes and Ryan Keltie from the corporate tax team to progress the deal and agree a deal structure that worked for both the buyer and Azets’ client, the seller.
Mr Plaskitt, corporate finance partner at Azets said: “It has been a pleasure to work closely with the team at Salient and with Matt Collen and Jonathan Tutu at Sintons to complete the deal, as well as the team at M Group, who have been extremely professional throughout. We wish the team all the best in their next exciting chapter with M Group Services and Callisto.”
