Knight advises AIMES on its sale to arrow business communications

Knight CF is delighted to announce another transaction, this time advising the shareholders of 01T on its sale to FourNet.

FourNet’s acquisition of global network specialist 01T is its fourth deal within three years and second in 12 months.

01T will offer the underlay connectivity to FourNet’s overlay of communications, CX and cybersecurity managed services.

“There’s a great deal of synergy between our two companies and joining forces feels like a very natural fit,” said Alex Lower, 01T founder and managing director.

“01T has been on a very similar journey to FourNet and that’s why we feel this is the right time to become one company.

“FourNet currently provides an incredible overlay for its customers. But when it comes to a fundamental component such as connectivity, if you are let down by third parties over which you have no control, that will damage your customer experience.

“Together, we will ensure customers have a first-class overlay, a first-class underlay and a seamless customer experience.”

Richard Pennington, co-founder and CEO of FourNet, added: “This acquisition builds on our growing network infrastructure offering and allows FourNet to provide an enhanced end-to-end service for our critical infrastructure and large enterprise customers who have resilient, reliable, global reach network requirements.

“It also allows FourNet to view and manage the end-to-end network and gain more control of network implementation and support, where currently we are reliant on third-party network aggregators.”

FourNet now has more than 200 employees with offices in Manchester, London and Derby.

James Painter, Senior Investment Director at Palatine Private Equity, which acquired a majority stake in FourNet in 2021, added: “Enhancing capability through strategic M&A is a key part of FourNet’s growth strategy and the acquisition of 01T adds a crucial network element to FourNet’s offering.”

Knight CF commented: “Great work from Jacob Pattison (Corporate Finance Manager) and Chris Collins (Associate Director) on completing this transaction, and congratulations to Richard Pennington, FourNet and everyone involved.”