The telecommunications entrepreneur who built Daisy Group into one of the industry’s most successful private companies is closing the latest in a series of significant acquisition deals.
Sky News has learned that Matthew Riley, chairman of Daisy, has orchestrated a £215m deal to acquire 4Com, a provider of cloud communications services to more than 17,000 corporate customers.
City sources said the deal was expected to be signed within days and was likely to net 4Com founder Daron Hutt a windfall profit worth more than £100m.
Daisy is believed to have targeted 4Com because of its cloud communications product, HiHi, which was promoted in a television advertising campaign.
The acquisition of 4Com will allow Daisy to expand the range of products it provides to the SME market as it continues to grow its customer base.
Based in Bournemouth, 4Com has grown through a series of acquisitions since it was founded in 1999.
The deal will increase Daisy’s SMB (small and medium business) customer base to more than 200,000 customers, with divisional revenues exceeding £400 million.
Riley has purchased several rivals in recent years, including paying £210m for XLN Telecom in 2022.
Its growth has seen Daisy second only to BT Group in the UK SME telecommunications market.
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At one point listed on the London public market, Daisy went private again in 2014, with the support of Toscafund Asset Management.
Houlihan Lokey, the investment bank, is advising on the deal.
Daisy declined to comment Friday.
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