Commercial Integrator June 2021 - 6

CI NEWS IN BRIEF RECENT STORIES PEOPLE AND PLACES WHAT'S NEW
Trox Acquires Tierney to Expand Education Client
Base Across North America
WHAT STARTED with a phone
call in October wrapped up
about six months later with Trox
acquiring St. Paul, Minn.-based
Tierney as the fi nal piece of its
ed tech puzzle across North
America.
Now, Trox CEO Erez Pikar
says the company will target
acquisitions that help the
Phoenix-based AV integrator
enhance its capabilities in
networking and security.
Pikar calls Trox's acquisition
of Tierney, a 45-year-old family
business started by brother Jim
and Tom Tierney, as " a merger
of equals " and notes " cost
savings is not the goal.
" It's more about
spring-loading the company
we're acquiring for growth, "
he says. " It's business the day
aſt er the same as it was the
day before but now with a ton
more opportunities. "
Jim Tierney and Pikar had
a long-standing relationship
and that help to kick off the
conversation last fall about
a potential acquisition, says
Tierney COO Michael Tierney.
Trox was " on the back end " of
another acquisition when Piker
fi rst understood it was possible
for his company to add Tierney
to the fold.
" The pandemic slowed
down some of our M&A
activity, " says Pikar. " Valuations
changed and the market
changed. We wanted to create
a platform to allow us to do
additional M&A work and that's
what we've done with this
acquisition. "
Trox was interested in
Tierney, he says, for " the sole
purpose of scale and adding
6
to the product category, " says
Pikar. " Tierney, because of their
size, reputation and quality of
people, was always at the top
of our list. "
This isn't the fi rst time another
AV integrator has shown
interest in Tierney, says CEO
Robert Gag, but the company
had resisted those overtures
in the past. The pursuit by Trox
started talking to each other,
from products and services to
a geographical standpoint,
where we're strong and where
they're strong, " says Gag.
" When you put it all together,
there was no doubt they
were the very best organization
we could ever think about
merging with, " he says. " That's
what makes me so excited
of face-to-face meetings Trox
and Tierney offi cials could have
during their acquisition talks, it
also compressed the timeline
because everyone stayed close
to their computers during the
six-month negotiating window.
" A lot of M&A starts with
face-to-face meetings, " says
Pikar. " The culture fi t and making
sure everybody gets along
was diff erent, he says.
" What was really important
to the Tierney ownership group
was to fi nd an organization that
had similar values, that was committed
to the four markets we
were in and particularly strong in
education, " says Gag, who will
lead Trox's sales organization.
" Many years ago, we took the
oath we were going to grow the
company with their values.
" This time when we were
approached, it seemed like it
was a little diff erent than in the
past, " he says. " The excitement
is where we can take this now.
We felt like we were on our way
to world domination at Tierney.
This allows us to get there a
little bit quicker. "
" I would characterize Tierney
as a regional power when it
comes to ed tech. It really made
sense when the organizations
Commercial Integrator JUNE 2021
moving forward. "
Trox's acquisition of Tierney
gives the combined company
more than 750 employees
across North America. Trox +
Tierney now serves approximately
5,200 school districts
across the U.S., Puerto Rico
and Canada.
" We wanted a partner
that shared our passion for
education and was eager to
help educators prepare for this
exciting future world, " says
Pikar. " As a combined company
with unparalleled scale, Trox
and Tierney will be able to off er
new skills, greater value, and
improved purchasing effi ciencies
to school districts, as well
as access to a larger network
of vendors, products, and
geographies. "
Although the coronavirus
pandemic limited the number
is important. " Trox and Tierney
leadership had two meeting
in Minneapolis, he says. " You
have to try to measure people
remotely, which is diff erent but
we're getting a little better at it.
" The silver lining is that
people spending more time
in front of their computers
means they're more available
and there's less travel and less
time in airports. It made people
more focused and able to get
more done, " says Pikar.
" It's a lot of work but it's all
about who you're working
with, " says Gag. " Everyone
was focused on making this
work, from the private equity
fi rm that owns Trox to the brokerage
fi rm we were working
with. It really went smoothly.
That's because you have two
solid organizations that are
doing things the right way. "
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Commercial Integrator June 2021

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