Selling Your MSP? Here’s What Hi-Tek Brings To The Table.
Hi-Tek Data is an active acquirer of managed IT firms. Founder-led since 1982, Sea Pine Equity-backed, with a proven integration playbook we have run multiple times. If you are considering exit, succession, or platform integration, this page is for you.
What Does An Acquisition By Hi-Tek Look Like?
Hi-Tek Data is an active buy-side acquirer of managed IT firms across the United States, with a focus on the eastern US. We acquire MSPs in the $1M to $15M revenue range, with focus on regulated-industry exposure (healthcare, accounting and advisory, financial services, PE-backed). Hi-Tek’s leadership remains founder-led; Sea Pine Equity Partners is our financial sponsor. We have an integration playbook we have run on prior acquisitions, including a multi-entity professional services holding company. Confidential conversations are with Adam Hartley directly, no banker required.
Why MSP Owners Talk To Hi-Tek
Most buyers are large national platforms run by financial sponsors with no operating background, or roll-ups whose model is buy-and-extract. Both have their place. Neither is what we are.
A Working MSP, Not A Financial Sponsor
Hi-Tek runs a managed IT services business. Adam runs one. Charlie runs one. We know what makes a client retain or churn, what makes engineers stay or leave, and what an integration plan that actually works looks like. We do not outsource that thinking to a McKinsey deck.
Founder-Led, Not Sponsor-Led
Sea Pine Equity Partners is our financial backer. They are not running the company. They support our growth and our M&A program. The day-to-day is Adam, Charlie, and our leadership team. That structure carries through to acquired firms: we do not transplant a financial-sponsor playbook onto your team.
A Real Integration Template
We have integrated multi-entity holdings, taken on multi-site office consolidations, brought new geographies into the Hi-Tek operating model, and grown clients through the transition rather than losing them. Five-phase template, run multiple times.
What Sea Pine-Backed Means For The Deal
Sea Pine Equity Partners committed to Hi-Tek to support organic growth and an active M&A program. The partnership gives us capital for acquisitions that does not require the kind of clawback structures roll-up firms use. A long-term hold horizon that aligns with the way most MSP owners actually think about their team and clients. Governance that supports growth without dictating operating decisions. A network of operators, advisors, and other PE-backed companies who care about quality.
What Sea Pine does not do: run the operations, dictate how acquired firms are integrated, or pressure us into deals that do not fit. Adam is CEO. Charlie is President. The leadership team is intact and continues to be.
For the MSP owner evaluating buyers, this means the conversation you have with Hi-Tek is with the operators who will be responsible for what happens after close. Not with a banker who hands you off after the LOI.
Hi-Tek’s Integration Playbook
Five phases. We have run this multiple times.
Phase 1 · Pre-LOI: Confidential Introduction And Culture-Fit Conversation
Both sides need to evaluate culture before sharing financial detail. We have this conversation with the seller’s principal directly, no banker required. Confidentiality is mutual and assumed.
Phase 2 · LOI Through Close: Diligence, Structure, Team Alignment
Quality of earnings, technical due diligence on the environment, team conversations as appropriate, real timelines. We do not overpromise or rush deals through a clock. The structure reflects what works for both sides.
Phase 3 · Day One To Day 90: Operational Continuity
Acquired firm clients see no service interruption. Your team continues serving them. Hi-Tek’s operating model (vCIO, Technical Account Manager, helpdesk pod) phases in over weeks, not overnight. Communication to clients is jointly drafted.
Phase 4 · Day 90 Through 180: Integration And Capability Expansion
Hi-Tek’s stack and operating cadence become standard for acquired clients who choose to adopt them. AI Solutions, Custom Application Development, advanced compliance posture, and the cyber stack alignment to current carrier requirements all become available. Existing engagements continue without disruption.
Phase 5 · Year One Onward: A Larger Operating Platform
The acquired firm becomes a regional base inside Hi-Tek’s platform. Your team has career progression that may not have existed in a smaller firm. Your geography becomes one of our service areas. Continued M&A in your region happens with you, not around you.
Nancy · Vice President · Multi-Entity Professional Services Holding Acquisition
What Stays The Same. What Gets Better.
Your Team Stays
We acquire MSPs because we want their team. Engineers join Hi-Tek’s career structure with progression paths that may not have existed in a smaller firm. Leaders stay in operating roles, not pushed out of the business they built.
Your Clients Continue
Continuity of service is the deal. Account leadership transitions are deliberate. Most clients of acquired firms grow with Hi-Tek rather than churning. Communication is jointly drafted with the seller’s principals, not imposed.
Your Geography Expands
If you serve clients in markets Hi-Tek does not currently serve, we expand to support them. Acquired firms become regional bases, not centralized into Syosset. Your geography becomes one of our official service areas.
New Capabilities Become Available
AI Solutions for Business, Custom Application Development, deeper compliance posture, and cyber stack alignment to current carrier requirements all become available to acquired clients. Cross-sell happens organically when it fits the client, not pushed.
Who Hi-Tek Is Looking To Acquire
Hi-Tek’s M&A discipline is selective. We acquire MSPs whose team, client base, and operating model fit our platform.
- Revenue range: $1M to $15M typically; larger possible for strategic fits, with a sweet spot of $4M to $10M
- Geography: Eastern US preferred for tighter operational integration, with national capability for the right strategic fit
- Industry exposure: Healthcare, accounting and advisory, financial services, PE-backed mid-market, professional services
- Team: 5+ engineers preferred; smaller teams can work for the right strategic fit
- Service mix: Managed IT primary, with cyber, cloud, in-house dev, or AI as bonus
- Owner intent: Founder considering exit, succession, or platform integration
Frequently Asked Questions About Selling Your MSP To Hi-Tek
Why would I sell my MSP to Hi-Tek?
Because the alternative is selling to a roll-up that will absorb your team into a centralized operations queue, retire your brand within 12 months, and treat your clients as a tranche of the deal model. Hi-Tek does not work that way. We are operators acquiring operators. Your team stays, your clients stay, your geography becomes ours, and the platform you join is run by people who do this for a living, not a finance committee.
What size MSPs does Hi-Tek acquire?
$1M to $15M in revenue, typically. The sweet spot is $4M to $10M with strong recurring revenue, regulated-industry exposure, and a team of 5+ engineers. Smaller firms can work for the right strategic fit. Larger is possible if the deal makes sense for both sides.
How long does an acquisition process take?
Pre-LOI conversations are unhurried. From signed LOI to close is typically 60 to 120 days, depending on diligence complexity and any third-party requirements. We do not push deals through artificial clocks. The right timing is the timing that works for both sides.
What happens to my team after the acquisition?
They join Hi-Tek’s operating structure. Engineers map to helpdesk pods, vCIOs, and Technical Account Managers depending on their fit and interest. Career progression paths are documented and real. Compensation is benchmarked to Hi-Tek’s bands, with equity opportunities for key roles in some structures.
Will my clients notice the transition?
Operationally, no. Branding transition is handled deliberately, on a timeline that works for the client base. Some acquired firms continue under their existing brand for 6 to 18 months. Communication to clients is jointly drafted with the seller’s principal.
Does Hi-Tek require sellers to leave the business?
No. Most sellers stay in operating roles, advisory roles, or board roles. The right structure depends on where the seller wants to take their next chapter. We have done full exits, partial exits, and earnout structures with continued involvement.
What financial structures does Hi-Tek consider?
Cash at close, deferred consideration, earnouts, rollover equity into Hi-Tek, and combinations of the above. The structure reflects what works for both sides. We do not impose a template; we negotiate.
Who do I talk to at Hi-Tek about a confidential conversation?
Adam Hartley, CEO, directly. adamh@hitekdata.com or 516-797-8800. The first conversation is informational, no banker, no NDA required, no prepared materials needed from your side.
Will a banker be involved?
Whether you have a banker is your decision, not ours. We talk to sellers represented by bankers and to sellers who choose to negotiate directly. We have done both. Direct conversations move faster and tend to produce structures both sides feel good about.
What makes Hi-Tek different from the larger MSP roll-ups?
Hi-Tek is a working MSP, not a financial sponsor with an MSP brand. Our leadership runs the operating company, not a holding company. Sea Pine Equity is our financial backer, not our operator. Our integration template is real and has been run multiple times. Our hold horizon is long, not optimized for a 5-year exit. And our acquired firms grow inside the platform rather than getting consolidated out of existence.
Start A Confidential Conversation.
The first conversation is informational. No NDA, no commitment, no prepared materials required from your side. We talk about your firm, what you are thinking about, what you are looking for in a buyer. If both sides see fit, we move forward.
Confidential. Founder-led. Sea Pine Equity-backed.