Edafio Technology Partners eyes next growth stage with private equity investment

Arkansas-based Edafio Technology Partners, the state’s largest managed services provider (MSP), announced Monday (Jan. 3) private equity investment from M/C Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm.

Edafio did not disclose the amount in a news release or response to a question from Talk Business & Politics.

Kenny Kinley, Edafio’s president and CEO, said the capital infusion would lead to additional growth opportunities, enhanced service capabilities and regional expansion.

“We are extremely excited to welcome M/C Partners as an investor in our business,” Kinley said in a news release. “This partnership will speed the expansion of Edafio’s services as well as enable our continued growth across the region.”

Edafio was formed in 1999 by the partners of Little Rock-based accounting firm JPMS Cox. The endeavor was so successful in producing results for JPMS that it developed into a full-service IT provider and began taking on clients of its own. When local IT firms couldn’t meet their needs, the partners created their solution, and Edafio Technology Partners was born.

“These are successful business partners who were able to grow both an accounting firm as well as a technology company,” said Kinley, who joined Edafio in 2011. “Edafio has enjoyed 22 years of success with a great group of owners, and we look forward to the next chapter of growth in partnership with M/C.”

Edafio maintains its headquarters in North Little Rock. A second office opened in Rogers in 2014, and another in Conway opened in 2016. The company also has a growing customer presence in Tennessee and Oklahoma.

M/C Partners focuses on businesses in the digital infrastructure and technology services sectors and has invested $2.4 billion in over 140 companies.

Edafio has public and private cloud offerings (Microsoft Azure and Edafio Private Cloud). For the majority of its history, Edafio has offered managed services, but in the past five years, the company has made significant investments in offerings for private cloud and cybersecurity, which are expected to be its main growth sectors.

“Edafio has established an impressive track record of providing high-quality services to a broad range of customers across the region in addition to vertical-specific expertise in industries such as healthcare that have increasingly complex and evolving IT needs,” Abhishek Rampuria, a partner at M/C Partners, said in a statement. “We look forward to partnering with the talented team at Edafio to accelerate their efforts and continued success in building a leading regional MSP through both organic growth initiatives and strategic acquisitions.”

Edafio has 116 employees and the largest group of certified engineers of any Arkansas-based MSP.

Little Rock-based law firm Mitchell Williams and Citizens M&A Advisory advised Edafio in the investment partnership. Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP served as legal counsel for M/C Partners.