Digital infrastructure platform UPSTACK acquired the telecom agency services division of CA Communications, based in Wayzata, Minnesota. CA’s founder, president and CEO, Marc Agar, will become an UPSTACK partner while remaining CA’s chief executive. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Going forward, CA’s agency business will operate under the UPSTACK brand, with ongoing support from key CA personnel, including Agar and CA partner Michael Agar, alongside enhanced resources from UPSTACK.
CA Communications will continue to operate its technology resale and managed services lines of businesses under the CA Communications brand.
“Marc Agar can only be described as forward-looking. He is one of the few entrepreneurs to successfully build a telecom agency and a hardware VAR in tandem. In 2006, he was also one of the first agents to understand and embrace the value distribution in technology services,” said UPSTACK founder and CEO, Christopher Trapp. “Today, we share a vision for the future of our industry that combines deep expertise, proven processes and technology enablement into a powerful platform that drives greater value for our customers. I’m excited to welcome Marc to the UPSTACK team.”
Founded in 2002, CA Communications is an IT and telecommunications consulting company that advises businesses on leveraging technology, services and offerings to deliver cost savings and increased profitability. The company’s telecom agency line of business focuses on strategy and sourcing solutions such as networking, data center, internet access, UCaaS, CCaaS and cybersecurity.
Marc Agar formed CA after his then-employer, McLeod USA, sold the hardware division where he spent eight years as GM and VP. Rather than stay on, he set out on his own to sell telecom hardware, and created direct agency agreements with telephone companies. Over the years, Marc Agar and Michael Agar have built one of the most loyal customer bases around. With an average client tenure of more than 15 years, CA has earned the ability to sell deep into their customers’ businesses across multiple products and services.
After more than 20 years of steady growth, Marc Agar wanted to take CA’s agency to the next level and serve enterprise clients.
“We could have kept going on our own and continued to be successful, but there comes a point where you must decide whether you can scale faster with a partner than alone to service your existing and future clients,” said Marc Agar. “We wanted to partner with the organization with the greatest momentum, resources and financial backing. It was clear to us that Chris Trapp and the UPSTACK team were well on their way.”
UPSTACK’s operational resources, technical expertise and partner relationships were key to Marc Agar’s decision.
For more information about UPSTACK’s agency investment program, contact partners@upstack.com. To learn about partnering with UPSTACK, click here.