Cirrus9, a Saint John-based managed cloud and data center operator, has been acquired by Carbon60 for an undisclosed price, and will now grow as part of Carbon60’s coast-to-coast operation.
Founded nine years ago by CEO Fred Bullock, Cirrus9 operates data centres, managed enterprise cloud infrastructure and related hosting services and support. It serves customers in both the public and private sectors with a client base extending from Atlantic Canada to British Columbia.
The Cirrus9 team will now become part of Carbon60, and Bullock will join the Toronto company’s management team and serve as Senior Vice-President of Business Solutions.
“The Cirrus9 team is excited to be joining Carbon60,” said Bullock in a statement. “Carbon60 shares our belief in delivering high-quality client experience as a way to differentiate in the fragmented managed services market. As the market continues to evolve, clients are increasingly looking for a trusted partner to support their businesses across multiple cloud platforms.”
Closing out a slow year for exits in Atlantic Canada, the Cirrus9 sale is undoubtedly good news for Saint John investment group East Valley Ventures, whose members invested in the company. Bob Justason, a founding member of East Valley, served on the Cirrus9 Board.
The Saint John enterprise will now become part of a far larger organization with operations in Toronto, Vancouver, Kelowna, New York, and London. The addition of Cirrus9’s New Brunswick base now gives it a true pan-Canadian presence.
“Cirrus9’s clients will be able to leverage Carbon60’s managed AWS and Azure cloud design, migration and management expertise for secure and compliant cloud-native and hybrid cloud transformation,” said Bullock.
Carbon 60 is backed by M/C Partners, a Boston private equity firm that has invested $2.2 billion into more than 100 enterprises.
In this transaction, RBC provided financial advice to Cirrus9, which sought legal counsel from McInnes Cooper and Pierce Law. Dentons served as the legal counsel for Carbon60.
“Cirrus9 is a valuable addition to the Carbon60 organization with a team of skilled technical personnel and an impressive list of major enterprise clients across Canada,” said Carbon60 CEO John Witte. “Cirrus9 is a natural fit with Carbon60’s strategy to lead businesses across Canada in their IT cloud transformations combined with a culture of delivering superior client experiences.”