6 Thing to Know About AVI-SPL Acquisition of Sharp’s Audio Visual

Tampa, Fla.-based AVI-SPL, the AV integration industry’s largest firm which was on pace for $720 million in 2017 revenue, has strengthened its Canadian presence by acquiring Calgary, Alberta-based Sharp’s Audio Visual which was on track for $53 million in revenue.

The merging of these integration firms will have ripple effects on the industry.

• How will the Canadian market react to the AVI-SPL acquisition and the company now emerging as a national unified communications and collaboration (UCC) provider?
• What happens now that the Global Presence Alliance’s (GPA) Canadian partner, Sharp’s Audio Visual, is acquired by a non-GPA member?
• What will be the next move in the “arms race” between AVI-SPL and second largest integration firm Diversified?

CEO John Zettel was willing to tackle these topics and more yesterday, one day after the AVI-SPL acquisition of Sharp’s Audio Visual was announced.

There was snow on the ground in Calgary as the CEO discussed his firm’s investment in the Canadian integration market alongside Jeff Faber, president and CEO of Sharp’s Audio Visual; and Boris Koechlin, AVI-SPL Canada managing director.

AVI-SPL Is Big on Canada

Tampa-based AVI-SPL has had a Canadian presence for four years, expanded its Virtual Meeting Room (VMR) program into Canada last year and had four offices in the Great White North prior to acquiring Calgary-based Sharps and its eight offices.

“Canada is a big economy,” Zettel said, adding that many multinational companies in Canada do a lot of business in U.S. and Europe and the opposite is true as well. His point: “This is a real cross opportunity on the model that we’re building to become the global integrator.”

The AVI-SPL acquisition allows the company to leap ahead of where its organic growth in Canada was already taking it and quickly “create a much bigger physical presence.”

Having a big physical presence is important in Canada for obvious geographic regions, added Koechlin.

It has been a challenge for any Canadian integration firm, even the ones with several locations, to service the entire country.

“The opportunity we saw even four years ago when AVI-SPL came to Canada was to be able to have a strong presence and be able to follow our customers not just coast-to-coast in Canada but around the world,” Koechlin said. “That’s a value proposition that’s fairly hard to find in Canada.”

AVI-SPL has changed that, he said. “What this acquisition does is build that story even further. We’ve organically gotten to four of the cities and now we go coast to coast.”

In the press release announcing the acquisition, AVI-SPL touts Sharp’s Audio Visual ability to deliver unified communications and collaboration (UCC) solutions. The merger, it adds, creates an integration that becomes Canada’s first nationwide provider of UCC.

Faber agrees. The reason there wasn’t already such an integration firm is the fragmentation of the Canadian market with “a lot of small mom and pop operations,” he said.

“There are some national players who’ve got locations in some parts of the country but nobody is truly national, and they’re not necessarily focused in the whole UCC space and that’s where the big opportunity is.”

“With our coming together and our individual practices in UCC particular around Microsoft and Cisco that’s where the real opportunity is to break apart some of this small fragmentation in the marketplace and really be the true UCC leader.”

Is Diversified’s Aggressive Growth Driving AVI-SPL Acquisition?

Bill Russell had Wilt Chamberlain. Coke has Pepsi. Roger Federer has Rafael Nadal.

So often a leading competitor is propelled by an opponent that always seems to be nipping at their heels.

With Diversified recent revenue surge driving by acquisition including the high-profile acquisition of Technical Innovation and MCW (the day prior to the Sharp’s announcement), it’s easy to wonder if AVI-SPL is focused on staying on top.

“The answer is no,” Zettel said, emphatically.

“We make our decisions based on what we feel is the right direction for our company and the opportunities that are in front of us. This is not a consolidation or roll-up play. This is us making ourselves truly the first global company in the AV and UCC space.”

That being said, Zettel understands that it looks like an “arms race” between AVI-SPL and Diversified to many in the industry.

“I know the timing can make it appear like there is an arms race going on but this deal was done not to add more revenue to AVI-SPL’s coffers. It was done because we wanted a stronger local presence in Canada. This was never done because we want to one-up anybody or stay ahead of anybody. It’s what’s best for AVI-SPL.”

AVI-SPL Acquisition Impact on Global Presence Alliance

Sharp’s Audio Visual was a prominent member of the GPA and its sole Canadian representative. That means changes are coming.

“The mechanics of the GPA are very simple,” Faber said.

“The moment there’s a change of control in your organization, the organization is automatically suspended. So Sharp’s is automatically suspended from the GPA and there’s no doubt that the board will make a decision to remove us from the GPA because of this transaction.”

“That being said, I also have no doubt that they’ll look for a new partner in Canada very quickly because that’s a hole they’ll want to fill.”

Attempts to reach GPA representatives for comment have been unsuccessful so far.

AVI-SPL is not involved with the GPA but Zettel says it was appealing that Sharp’s was. “When we started talking to Sharp’s there were some things about Sharp’s that just instantly resonated with us and one was their GPA participation from the standpoint that they are thinking globally as an origination,” he said.

If you enjoyed this article and want to receive more valuable industry content like this, click here to sign up for our digital newsletters!