Moa Capital, which has not said how much it is paying, said TeleGeography will continue its commitment to providing telecoms data and analysis.
Neither Moa nor TeleGeography have said how much the transaction is worth.
At the same time Dave Bellon has retired as CEO of PriMetrica, the company that has owned TeleGeography since 2003. COO Michael Owings will take over, said Moa Capital. Owings has been with TeleGeography for 17 years.
“This is a very exciting time for TeleGeography and a logical next step for our organisation,” said Owings. “We have an opportunity to continue our global growth and deliver insights and intelligence for more enterprises and service providers around the world. Our change in ownership will not change our commitment to data integrity and serving our customers and partners with the care and sensitivity that they’ve come to expect from our team.”
Moa Capital does not list other technology or market research businesses on its website. It says it focuses on “companies in the lower-middle market” and adds: “The firm was founded by experienced middle-market private equity investors who recognize the significant opportunity with businesses that are too small for larger private equity firms and do not offer the high growth rates required by venture capital investors.”
Its businesses “typically generate less than $8 million of EBITDA, are in niche markets and have a track record of steady financial performance”, says Moa.
The only two investments – apart from TeleGeography itself – that it lists as part of its portfolio are Seybert’s, an online retailer of “high-end equipment for billiards enthusiasts”, and Apartment Guardian, which provides “solutions for the multi-family property industry”, to “increase workplace safety for employees”.
Marko Nikolic, managing director at Moa Capital, said: “TeleGeography is a proven and trusted leader in telecommunications market research and consulting. It plays a critical role in the international telecom market and we’re proud to be part of its journey.”
Moa said it has “a network of operating executives that assist with developing the business strategy and implementing growth initiatives”, and that it “offers flexible capital solutions that are not restricted by time horizon or limited to control investments”.
In the past Capacity Media, the publisher of Capacity, and TeleGeography worked together on a series of wide area network (WAN) events.
