Daisy founder Riley in £215m swoop on cloud firm 4Com

Sky News

12 April 2024 at 8:03 am·1-min read

The telecoms entrepreneur who turned Daisy Group into one of the industry's most successful private companies is closing in on the latest in a string of significant takeover deals.

Sky News has learnt that Matthew Riley, Daisy's chairman, 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 hand 4Com founder Daron Hutt a windfall worth more than £100m.

Daisy is understood to have targeted 4Com because of its cloud communication product, HiHi, which has been promoted in a television advertising campaign.

The acquisition of 4Com will enable 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 itself grown through a series of acquisitions since it was founded in 1999.

The deal will swell Daisy's SMB (small and medium business) customer base to over 200,000 clients, with revenues from the division standing at more than £400m.

Mr Riley has bought a number of rivals in recent years, including paying £210m for XLN Telecom in 2022.

Its growth has made Daisy second only to BT Group in the UK's SME telecoms market.

At one stage listed on the public market in London, Daisy was taken private again in 2014 with the backing of Toscafund Asset Management.

Houlihan Lokey, the investment bank, is understood to be advising on the deal.

Daisy declined to comment on Friday.

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