On 30 November 2023, Oriens Capital announced the acquisition of TMG Cloudland Group Limited (the Group), a newly incorporated company established to acquire 100% of Cloudland Limited (Cloudland) and Tech Management Group Limited (TMG). The transaction completes on 21 December 2023 and will mark the fourth investment in Oriens Fund 2.
Cloudland and TMG are both leading IT platform and managed service providers in New Zealand, delivering a comprehensive suite of IT services to small and medium sized business particularly in the healthcare and professional services sectors. This transaction represents a merger of these two businesses and while both brands will continue to operate under their established brand names, the collaboration between both parties promises to amplify services across New Zealand and into Australia.
The transaction sees Oriens Capital take a 53% equity stake in the Group, partnering with the existing Cloudland and TMG shareholders. The capable and motivated executive team of Cloudland will assume the day-to-day management across the Group. Andre Ducrot, CEO of TMG, will be stepping back from management duties within six to 12 months but will retain a 7% equity stake in the Group.
A new board will be formed consisting of Ross Jenkins, the current Chairman of Cloudland, and continuing shareholder in the Group; Paul Heeney, currently an independent director of TMG, with extensive experience in healthcare management and consulting; as well as James Beale who will be appointed on behalf of Oriens Capital. Another independent director will be appointed to the board in the near future
John Calland, Cloudland CEO, says that the merger is a true partnership where clients will benefit from the complementary strengths of the two providers, both with proven track records:
“Joining forces with TMG aligns with our mission to deliver unparalleled IT solutions. TMG’s impressive track record within the primary healthcare market complements our strengths, ensuring our clients benefit from an even wider spectrum of expertise. Clients and partners can anticipate a richer service offering and more collaborative expertise, upholding the gold standard both businesses are renowned for.”
Andre Ducrot, TMG CEO, says he sees the merger as a natural evolution for TMG:
“Together TMG and Cloudland will be in a position to offer a wider range of services to our primary healthcare customers, and even better regional coverage across NZ. We have a lot of similarities, including our comparable size, strong local community roots, and shareholders with considerable experience working in the primary healthcare sector. The two companies will complement one another well, and our customers will benefit as a consequence”.
James Beale, Oriens Capital Partner also commented on the new partnership:
“We were inspired by the vision from the leaders of TMG and Cloudland, along with the high-performance cultures they’ve fostered. The merged business will be the market leader in the New Zealand primary healthcare platform market, with the best regional coverage by far to service existing and new clients. We see exciting prospects for continued growth in the healthcare and professional services IT markets.”
Cloudland and TMG will retain their current regional office locations in Hamilton, Whangarei, and Christchurch.
About Cloudland
Cloudland creates success for its clients through beautifully simple IT solutions. Cloudland helps businesses across New Zealand and Australia harness great technology with outstanding customer support by providing fit-for-purpose cloud technology services.
Cloudland has its own Azure-based platform, a digital workspace that integrates with Microsoft 365, a simple and secure way for people to access their apps, documents, and other tools.
About TMG
TMG is New Zealand’s largest health IT provider, working to build robust and innovative solutions that help improve the health of New Zealand communities – e awhi ana kia hāpai ake te hauora o ngā hāpori o Aotearoa. TMG offers tailor-made managed IT services to primary health providers. In addition to its enterprise-class hosting platform, TMG offers services such as VOIP phone solutions, managed print fleets, and email solutions.
E kawea ana kia tōtika ake te hauora mā te hangarau – delivering better health through technology.
About Oriens Capital
Oriens Capital is a private equity fund management business based in Tauranga. Established in 2016, Oriens looks to partner with ambitious kiwi businesses to enable business growth and facilitate shareholder succession. Oriens Capital Fund 2 has $100m in committed capital, deployed across four investments to date.