Brennan armed with $30m for acquisitions

National solutions provider Brennan IT has declared September as the "most successful month" in its 17 years, while boasting of a $30 million "war chest" to continue its quest for acquisitions.

A statement from Brennan IT said that it had won seven new customers in a "record-breaking" month, with each of the deals topping $1 million. September also saw Microsoft and HP honour the company with partner awards.

The $30 million fund will be used to "aggressively pursue acquisitions and investment within infrastructure over the next 12 months" and that more money is available to spend on "the right deal".

Although the 240-staff channel player has made no secret of its acquisition hunger in recent times, the latest announcement marks a return to active search for buyouts.

"Market sentiment is the best it has been in a while and, with our strong track record of profit and year-on-year growth, we are in the perfect position to pursue growth opportunities," said founder and managing director Dave Stevens.

"Our last deal was three years ago and we are open to exploring the right opportunity."

Even as far back as August last year Stevens told CRN he was on the lookout for acquisitions, but no transactions have materialised since the purchases of S Central and Sirocco in 2010.

At the Microsoft Australian Partner Conference earlier this month, Stevens told a CRN panel that Brennan is looking for very specific attributes – with profitability at the top of the list.

"There are only a few reasons why we’d want to make an acquisition: to get into new areas of technology, to get some intellectual property, or it’s about acquiring a profit," said Stevens on the Gold Coast. "Most of the businesses in Australia are not going to have intellectual property."

Stevens has previously told CRN that, after looking at hundreds of companies in the channel, very few actually turn a profit.

The MD said in the latest announcement that Brennan's doors are open for discussions with the right candidates.

"As a business our sweet spot continues to be the mid-market – 50- to 1000-seat businesses," he said. "Any deal we make needs to build towards strengthening our offer to this segment of the market. If there is a company out there that thinks they fit the bill, then we would love to hear from them."

Privately-owned Brennan IT has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Newcastle.