MOQ acquires Microsoft partner Wardy IT for $7.5 million

Brisbane Microsoft partner Wardy IT Solutions has been acquired by MOQ, the ASX-listed holding company of Sydney-based Microsoft partner MOQdigital, for $7.5 million.

As part of the deal, MOQ adds Wardy IT’s four offices in Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney to its geographical footprint, as well as its 300 customers.

All 60 Wardy IT staff across Australia and New Zealand will also join the company, with founder and managing director Peter Ward joining as MOQ’s general manager for data analytics.

Wardy IT specialises in data platforms and data analytics, and will join MOQdigital’s existing applications, data and analytics business.

“The acquisition of Wardy IT is an excellent strategic fit for MOQ and aligns with our vision to develop, build and acquire cloud-centric complementary technology businesses,” MOQ chief executive Joe D’Addio said in the announcement (pdf) released today.

“We are pleased to welcome the Wardy IT team and their market-leading expertise in data architecture, data optimisation and data management capabilities on the Microsoft platform … our customers should benefit from our strengthened resources in an area that is central to their digital transformation efforts.”

In addition to the $7.5 million upfront payment, Wardy IT also gets a potential deferred earn-out of up to $6 million tied to Wardy IT’s financial results in the next 12 months, increasing the total compensation of up to $13.5 million.

“Wardy IT has actively partnered with the MOQ team on a number of projects over the last five years and we are all excited by the opportunity to become part of the MOQ business,” Peter Ward said.

“We anticipate being able to significantly strengthen our cloud practice and grow the combined Data Platform and Data Analytics segment, while continuing to deliver the high quality of service to which our clients are accustomed.”

Microsoft Australia managing director Steven Worrall was quoted in the announcement, saying, “We look forward to extending our relationship with MOQ through the acquisition of Wardy IT. The combined expertise of the two companies will be of great value to small and medium sized businesses that rely on Microsoft solutions to run their operations efficiently and effectively.”