F12 Acquires XCEL, Strengthens Offerings for Canadian Customers

Edmonton, Calgary-based IT service provider F12.Net Inc. has acquired managed services provider (MSP) XCEL Professional Services, Inc. The deal will expand F12’s presence in the Alberta and Calgary markets.

The Calgary market has struggled with the impact of a slowdown in the oil and gas sector, and F12 hopes the acquisition will give them a more strategic position in which to grow their presence there. F12 executed a similar strategy in Ontario last year with its merger with Insite Computer Group, Inc., a managed infrastructure and professional services organization.

“This acquisition fits with F12’s strategy of expanding by finding disciplined managed services companies who have found the secret of efficient IT support and high customer satisfaction. XCEL’s team fits our culture; they are a humble, hardworking team who enjoy working with each other and value their customers,” said Alex Webb, CEO of F12, in a statement.

XCEL founder and chairman, Colin Knox, will turn his focus exclusively to Passportal, a separate venture. Designed for and exclusively sold through the channel, MSPs can use market the tool as a white label service as part of their own branded security suite offerings.

Earlier this year, Passportal announced a key partnership with ConnectWise, in which the password management platform was made available for purchase via the ConnectWise catalog of integrated solutions, in addition to integrating with the ConnectWise professional services automation (PSA) platform and LabTech Software remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform. 

“The F12 team shares our passion for delivering an exceptional customer experience through managed IT services and cloud solutions, and the synergies between the cultures made the deal all the more successful for the associates and our mutual customers,” said Knox.

Correction: An earlier version of this story included Passportal as part of the properties acquired by F12. Passportal is not included in the acquisition deal.