Canadian-founded, San Francisco-based company AppDirect has acquired third-party technologies distributor Telecom Brokerage Inc. (TBI) as the former looks to scale its offerings for technology advisors.
The acquisition closed on January 31 for an undisclosed amount. TBI’s engineering and educational resources will merge with AppDirect’s advisors to provide them with digital tools to find, buy, and manage technology solutions to expand their portfolio.
“Access to “the world’s most diversified and largest catalogue of technology solutions,” will make it easier for TBI advisors to sell a greater range of products.
According to AppDirect, it expects its existing contingent of technology advisors to increase. With the acquisition, AppDirect will have access to advisor training developed by TBI to help foster this growth.
“By combining the power of our platform and our entire ecosystem with TBI’s approach to the advisor-business relationship, we can provide a level of service for advisors that goes well beyond what has been achieved before,” said Nicolas Desmarais, chairman and CEO of AppDirect.
AppDirect, which has an active growth through acquisition strategy, also recently acquired cloud technology provider ITCloud.ca. The companyhas also acquired a number of other startups in the past decade such as Montréal-based Radialpoint, and Calgary-based AppCarousel.
According to a company spokesperson, AppDirect is well situated despite recent economic downturns and expects to make more acquisitions in 2023.
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Earlier this year, AppDirect unified its AppSmart advisor business with the AppDirect brand by serving customers under the same name. AppDirect’s subscription platform hosts over 1000 providers, 10,000 advisors, and 5 million subscribers.
Geoffrey Shepstone, president of TBI, said access to “the world’s most diversified and largest catalogue of technology solutions,” will make it easier for TBI advisors to sell a greater range of products to drive new sources of revenue.
AppDirect was founded in San Francisco in 2009 by Canadians, and has a strong presence north of the border. With a commitment to grow its Montréal headcount by 730 over five years, Montréal marks the company’s largest global office. AppDirect announced this plan after receiving a $54.8 million CAD loan from the Government of Québec in 2021. To date, AppDirect has received $465 million CAD in total funding.
CORRECTION (01/09/23): A previous version of this story stated that AppDirect was founded in Montréal before relocating to San Francisco. This story has been updated to reflect the fact that while AppDirect has a strong presence in Canada, the company was founded in San Francisco by Canadians.
Feature image courtesy AppDirect.
