Managed Services

After long-simmering rumors, Autotask acquired

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Autotask CEO Mark Cattini

Autotask CEO Mark Cattini

The Autotask acquisition betting pool is closed, and unless you were holding Vista Equity Partners as the buyer, you lost.

At Autotask Community Live this morning in Miami, CEO Mark Cattini announced the deal in which the private equity firm would take control of the leading professional services automation software vendor for an undisclosed amount.

“This announcement reflects our deep commitment to accelerate the value we deliver to our customers,” said Cattini, in a statement. “We are devoted to our clients’ ongoing success and are confident that our partnership with Vista will drive innovation and growth and deliver dynamic solutions as the traditional IT landscape evolves.”

No details were released on how the acquisition would affect Autotask or its thousands of MSP users around the world. Much of the proceeds will probably go toward reinvestment and paying out existing investors, which include JMI Equity, North Atlantic Capital and Hamilton Lane.

Under Cattini’s leadership, Autotask has pursued an international expansion plan, as well as growth of its domestic base of MSPs. Headquartered in Greenbush, N.Y., the company now operates offices in Europe, Australia and China. It recently opened a satellite office in Chicago.

“Autotask has a long history of dedicating itself to customer-centric solutions and has built a strong foundation for sustained, long-term growth,” said Vista principal Alan Cline. “We are very pleased to be working with the Autotask team to expand and enhance the company’s solutions to help IT service providers more efficiently and effectively meet their clients’ changing needs.”

The channel rumor mill has been churning out speculation that Autotask would be acquired sometime this summer. The leading bets placed Autotask being paired with a remote monitoring and management (RMM) vendor to counterbalance the strengths of rival ConnectWise and its subsidiary, LabTech Software. As late as last night, industry insiders were placing bets on an RMM vendor making the deal.

The Autotask acquisition is the latest in a series of mergers, acquisitions and buyouts to roll over the managed services segment. This time last year, SolarWinds bought N-able, AVG Technologies bought Level Platforms, Kaseya was acquired a venture capital firm, and PacketTrap (a Dell unit) was shut down.

All this activity is happening amid a backdrop of a slowing managed services market; multiple research reports — including those by Channelnomics parent The 2112 Group — shows managed services growth slowing and profitability falling. Vendors such as Autotask dismiss such reports, saying the core of the managed services market remains strong and still has room for growth.

This article originally appeared on Channelnomics.