Telecom Brokers Begins Agency Buying Spree With Globalcomm 2000

**Editor’s Note: Please click here for a recap of the biggest channel-impacting mergers in Q1 2015.**

By Edward Gately

Master agency Telecom Brokers has kicked into high gear with a new growth initiative, starting with the acquisition of the customer base and other assets of Global Communications 2000.

As part of the acquisition, Globalcomm 2000 becomes an independent agent under Telecom Brokers, providing access to a portfolio of marketing resources to help further its business. And Telecom Brokers gets added regional scale through Globalcomm 2000’s subagent channel and carrier contracts.

Dom Antonini, Telecom Brokers’ president, tells Channel Partners that acquiring just the customer base and other assets, as opposed to an entire company, is more financially advantageous.

“If you notice, large telecom mergers often involve inheriting lawsuits or loans that must be paid,” he said. “In this case, Judy (Magana, Globalcomm 2000s’ president and CEO) is continuing to do business out of her office space, so she kept her lease. I would only consider taking on leases if they’re in target cities where I would consider launching an additional physical presence, like Los Angeles, Santa Clara [California], San Diego, Austin or Dallas.”

Telecom Brokers is now “actively looking for other master agencies that are interested in rolling their business and accumulated subagents under [the company] in exchange for funding that they can use to advance their long-term goals,” Antonini said.

“I’m ready to acquire more agencies immediately and currently am in negotiations for a potential next deal,” he said. “I’m looking to add $10 million per year in revenue through acquisitions. In terms of what that looks like, it could come from few big deals, or lots of little ones. It doesn’t matter to me, the companies just have to be a good fit.”

Globalcomm 2000’s carrier quotas have become harder to meet and have often affected its business decisions.

“For us, it made wonderful business sense,” Magana said. “As pricing comes down for products and services, it made it harder to meet our financial commitments with …

… suppliers. Rolling under Telecom Brokers has given us much more power over our business, and we’re even gaining a larger percentage of commissions, because they have a larger base and better terms with providers than we could gain on our own.”

Globalcomm 2000 used money from the sale to redesign its website, which has attracted new business, she said.

“We can focus our attention on building our brand,” Magana said. “It’s a different channel environment than it was 10 or 15 years ago when we started our master-agent push, and our deal with Telecom Brokers has allowed us to reposition for long-term viability and a fresh era of growth.”

Agents that join Telecom Brokers’ channel can advance their own brands by making use of its backing and marketing services, including email campaigns, brochures that can be white labeled and other resources, Antonini said.

“It’s really hard for smaller master agencies to compete in today’s environment, so I give them a way to do that under the Telecom Brokers umbrella,” he said. “They can still operate under their own brand, or they can use mine. This model can also be an exit strategy for people who want to retire or switch careers.”