Edgewater Acquires M2 Dynamics

Ridgecrest Advisors’ Client Edgewater Acquires M2 Dynamics
~ Expands Reach and Depth in Oracle Business Analytics ~

St. Louis – December 22, 2015 – Ridgecrest Advisors announced today that its client, Edgewater Technology, Inc. (EDGW), a leading consulting firm that helps business leaders drive transformational change through its unique selection of business and technology services and specialized product-based solutions, today announced that it has acquired the assets of M2 Dynamics Inc. (“M2”).  M2 is an Oracle Platinum Partner providing Oracle Enterprise Performance Management (“EPM”) and Business Intelligence (“BI”) solutions and services primarily to the West Coast and southern regions of the United States.

M2 will join Edgewater Ranzal in providing clients with IT consultancy services specializing in Business Analytics and encompassing EPM, BI and Big Data solutions.

“We have been working on the M2 transaction for several months and are pleased to complete this highly complementary acquisition. The acquisition of this key Oracle EPM asset represents another important step in our strategy to provide the full range and breadth of service delivery that our customers are demanding,” said Shirley Singleton, Edgewater’s chairman, president and CEO. “We expect the acquisition will be accretive to 2016 earnings per share, and will provide us with increased scale to further strengthen our existing foundation and enhance our ability to drive growth and value creation for stockholders.”

“We are pleased to see Edgewater Ranzal and M2 come together,” said Hari Sankar, group vice president, product management, Oracle.  “The combination will provide depth of expertise covering the full range of Enterprise Performance Management offerings across cloud and on-premises, and deliver value for Oracle customers.”

“The addition of M2 expands, and substantially completes, our North American geographic footprint with virtually no overlap on our existing client base,” said Edgewater Executive Vice President Robin Ranzal. “M2 brings large scale cloud-based EPM references, as well as new verticals in aerospace, retail, entertainment and financial services, all of which will be strategic additions to our Oracle EPM portfolio of services.”

Total consideration paid at closing was approximately $16.1 million, in cash. The purchase price is subject to a net working capital adjustment and additional contingent consideration of up to approximately $6.6 million, based on operating results over a one-year period immediately following closing. Contingent consideration earned, if any, would be payable in cash.  M2’s operating results will be combined with those of Edgewater’s beginning on December 21, 2015.

Randy Grigg, managing partner of Ridgecrest Advisors, advised Edgewater on this transaction. “M2 is a natural fit for rounding out the Business Analytics offerings of Edgewater Ranzal,” said Grigg.

About Edgewater
Edgewater (EDGW) helps business leaders drive transformational change through its unique selection of business and technology services and specialized product-based solutions.

Classic consulting disciplines (such as business advisory, process improvement, organizational change management, M&A due diligence, and domain expertise) are blended with technical services (such as digital transformation, technical roadmaps, data and analytics services, custom development, and system integration) to help organizations get the most out of their existing IT assets while creating new digital business models.

Delivering both on premise and in the cloud, Edgewater partners with Oracle and Microsoft to offer Business Analytics, BI, ERP, and CRM solutions. Edgewater Ranzal, an Oracle Platinum Consulting Partner, provides Business Analytics solutions leveraging Oracle EPM, BI, and Big Data technologies. As an award-winning Microsoft partner, Edgewater Fullscope delivers Dynamics AX ERP, Business Intelligence, and CRM solutions, with a specialty in manufacturing.

About Edgewater Ranzal
Edgewater Ranzal is a full-service Oracle Platinum Consulting Partner with unrivalled expertise in delivering Oracle Hyperion Enterprise Performance Management, Business Intelligence and Big Data solutions. We consistently apply and update leading-practice methodologies to address changing business requirements and take advantage of evolving system capabilities. With resources and clients located throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, we are one of the largest specialized Oracle Business Analytics partners. To learn more, visit ranzal.com, e-mail info@ranzal.com, or call +1.914.253.6600.

About Oracle PartnerNetwork
Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) Specialized is the latest version of Oracle’s partner program that provides partners with tools to better develop, sell and implement Oracle solutions. OPN Specialized offers resources to train and support specialized knowledge of Oracle products and solutions and has evolved to recognize Oracle’s growing product portfolio, partner base and business opportunity. Key to the latest enhancements to OPN is the ability for partners to differentiate through Specializations. Specializations are achieved through competency development, business results, expertise and proven success. To find out more visit http://www.oracle.com/partners.

About Ridgecrest Advisors
Ridgecrest Advisors is an investment banking and business consulting firm dedicated to helping technology consulting firms dramatically increase enterprise value. Ridgecrest Advisors helps clients in four core areas:

  1. Buy-side M&A advisory: We help technology consulting clients increase enterprise value by successfully executing transactions which fortify, extend or transform their businesses. We have run three of the most active acquisition programs in the sector over the last 15 years and bring deep insight into full lifecycle M&A efforts.
  2. Sell-side M&A advisory: We help technology consulting clients achieve premium valuations with attractive deal structures through a process that emphasizes speed and risk mitigation. Our deep industry expertise, expansive relationships with the buyer community and unmatched understanding of the perspectives of acquiring firms provide a unique ability to execute optimal transactions.
  3. Business consulting: Our Enterprise Value Optimization program helps technology consulting clients improve relative performance visibility, increase profit margins and reduce business risk. With our extensive experience from evaluating hundreds of consultancies while running acquisition programs, we bring unique insight into key performance indicator benchmarks and best practices of highly profitable firms.
  4. Private placements: Our ability to successfully raise capital allows our technology consulting clients to build value through funded strategic investment and reduce personal financial risk by realizing partial liquidity on their ownership positions. We have extensive relationships with private equity and debt financing providers who have experience and/or interest in the technology consulting sector.

All services involving securities are offered through M&A Securities Group, Inc. (“MAS”), member FINRA/SiPC; 4151 North Mulberry Drive, Suite 252; Kansas City, MO 64116; 816.888.7920. MAS and Ridgecrest are not affiliated entities.