Channel Programs News
Rick Whiting
With the strategic acquisition, The Channel Company will increase its EMEA footprint, expand CRN as a global brand and leverage Computing media and events as part of an effort to create a global IT end-user community.
The Channel Company, parent company of CRN, has completed the acquisition of the technology division of London-based Intrusive mediato be inclusive computer use† CRN UK and Insight into channel partners properties, The Channel Company said Friday.
The strategic acquisition unites the CRN and CRN UK brands within the same company and marks a significant step in The Channel Company’s ambitions to make CRN a global brand.
The deal also creates an opportunity to use Incisive Media’s Computing brand and The Channel Company’s Midsize Enterprise Services brand to fuel The Channel Company’s efforts to create a global IT end-user community, Blaine Raddon said. , CEO of The Channel Company, in an interview. †
[Related:
The Channel Company Expands Its Global Footprint With Bchannels Acquisition
]
“The audiences we serve in the end-user and channel spaces now have the opportunity to participate in a wider and much more robust global community,” Raddon said. The addition of Incisive Media’s titles and events “increases audience value for the sponsors, vendors, distributors, and solution providers seeking to engage with that audience. This gives us a global platform for that engagement.”
The acquisition expands The Channel Company’s presence in the EMEA region with its media and events facilities, as well as its channel marketing, consulting and research services.
The acquisition of Incisive Media’s properties completes a process that began in April when UK-based ARC, a global provider of data, events and media platforms, acquired all of Incisive Media’s properties, including its financial, durable and technology properties. .
Both Arc and The Channel Company are backed by investment funds managed by New York-based EagleTree Capital. EagleTree helped negotiate the deal that saw The Channel Company now acquiring ARC’s Incisive Media technology division. The terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.
The acquisition of Incisive Media’s technology properties significantly expands The Channel Company’s channel portfolio, which, in addition to CRN and CRN.com, includes events such as XChange, Best of Breed and Women of the Channel, along with a craze for channel-focused marketing, advisory and research services.
The acquisition unites UK-based CRN with its leading US counterpart, CRN.com and CRN magazine – which will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2022. The Channel Company also acquires Channel Partner Insight, which provides IT channel news and insights, to both a European and global audience, through its channelpartnerinsights.com website, newsletters and events.
Computing is a provider of news, research and events for IT executives, including CIOs, CTOs and IT directors. That trait is seen as synergy with The Channel Company’s Midsize Enterprise Services, including the Midsize Enterprise Summit event and the MES Leadership Network community, for senior midmarket IT leaders.
“We have a thriving leadership community of mid-sized companies in the US and we want to expand it globally,” Raddon said. “The Computing property we’re taking on with Incisive Media gives us content for the end-user community that we can use to connect these things together and build them out as a global community for CIOs and IT decision-makers.”
A number of The Channel Company’s clients, Incisive Media – and in some cases both – welcomed the combination.
“I was delighted to see the news of the US and UK CRN platforms joining forces,” said Simon Chappell, co-founder and CEO of Assured Data Protection. “As CEO of a company with two headquarters in the UK and the US, it is extremely helpful to be able to share our message consistently across both continents. CRN has always been an important media platform in both locations and the recent news only adds to this perspective.”
“The acquisition is a mutually beneficial transaction and I am confident it will be a benefit to all parties. As a staunch subscriber to both the US and UK CRN platforms, I am delighted to announce the announcement and look forward to implementing the anticipated synergies,” said Dave Stevinson, CEO of QBS Software, based in Wembley, UK.
The acquisition of Incisive Media’s technology properties is the latest step toward realizing The Channel Company’s ambitions to expand the The Channel Company and CRN brands globally and expand the portfolio of services that it offers and end-user customers.
In January 2021, The Channel Company acquired Audienz, a cloud marketing services company that has top cloud service providers on its client list. That deal added global end-user digital marketing services capabilities to The Channel Company’s portfolio of research and advisory services.
The Channel Company further expanded its global presence in February this year when it bought bChannels, a 23-year-old global channel marketing powerhouse operating an AI-based precision marketing platform for marketing tasks to and from partners. Based in Oxford, UK, BChanels has operations in the UK, Spain, Malaysia, Australia and the US
The acquisition of Incisive Media builds on those previous acquisitions, Raddon noted. The addition of bChannels, for example, provided The Channel Company with a comprehensive global partner database “and an advanced data infrastructure to fully utilize that database to help our supplier customers advertise more effectively on the channel and end users,” the CEO said.
“That database, combined with Incisive Media’s relationships and communities, is a powerful combination that allows our solutions customers, suppliers and distributors to be more effective in reaching these two communities,” Raddon said.
“They are all part of our overarching strategy to bring more value to our suppliers, distributors and solutions providers,” Raddon said of the series of acquisitions. “With these three acquisitions, we have acquired The Channel Company and these three companies and created an entirely new company.”
