Avant, PlanetOne Execs Detail Merger, 'Billion-Dollar Company' Ambitions

Avant and PlanetOne executives say the merger of their companies taps into complementary skill sets and platforms.

Chicago-based Avant on Wednesday publicized its acquisition of Scottsdale, Arizona-based PlanetOne. The deal marks one of the last independently held TSBs to agree to an acquisition or private equity investment. X4 Solutions, Intelisys, WTG, Telegration, MicroCorp, CNSG, Telarus, Bridgepointe have all agreed to deals in the last five years, with activity ramping up in the last year. Avant is leveraging funds from Pamlico Capital to buy PlanetOne.

The merger expands the presence of Avant in the western U.S. Executives say PlanetOne brings more project-management and back-office resources to the fold. Avant CEO Ian Kieninger and newly minted Avant customer experience officer Ted Schuman said the Avant and PlanetOne’s respective Pathfinder and Sentient platforms complement each other.

Most partners have offered a largely favorable response to the transaction.

Schuman and Kieninger sat down virtually with Channel Futures for an interview about the acquisition and the future they envision for the combined company.

See our 11 slides above for their comments.