Gamma finds new voice with Scottish acquisition

Cloud comms vendor acquires Microsoft Teams Voice specialist Exactive for up to £7.5m

Gamma has acquired Scottish Microsoft Teams specialist Exactive for up to £7.5m.

The deal will see the cloud comms player pay £4.5m in cash and shares, with a "deferred contingent consideration" of up to £3m, which will require Exactive to achieve EBITDA of £1.5m in 2021, Gamma said.

Dunfermline-based Exactive was established in 2015 and had a turnover of £3.8m for the year ending 31 December 2019. It also has support facilities in Poland. CEO Scott Millar, CCO Robert Hutchison - who together co-founded the firm - and CTO Richard McPhee will remain with the merged business.

Exactive is one of a small number of Microsoft Teams Voice partners operating in the UK and the acquisition is based on an existing relationship between the companies, Gamma said, adding that the Scottish firm's expertise will enable Gamma to help businesses migrate quickly to Teams.

The purchase is "another key stage" in Gamma's strategy to become the leading unified comms-as-a-service (UCaaS) provider in Europe, following its €27m (£23.5m) purchase of Dutch UC specialist Dean One in 2018 and Fareham-based Telsis in 2019.

"I am delighted to build on our track record of working with Exactive to bring customers a complete range of services for Microsoft Teams. UCaaS is an ever-evolving and rapidly growing market that we plan to be at the heart of, across all customer environments," stated Andrew Taylor, CEO of Gamma.

"Exactive helps us address a part of the market that is already embedded in a Microsoft ecosystem and this will be an essential part of our UCaaS strategy in the years ahead.

"We have known the Exactive team for many years and see the business as a very good fit. We are really looking forward to working alongside the Exactive team as we continue to grow Gamma, leveraging our experience and resources, to capitalise on the opportunities ahead."

Exactive's Millar added: "Gamma is the right home for Exactive. As a Microsoft Teams specialist, we are excited about becoming a member of the Gamma family and see this is a key milestone in the continued disruption and convergence in our marketplace as Microsoft continues to become a significant player in the voice and collaboration market."