OneCom snaps up lead generation firm Black Sheep Communications, while Evolve buys Vodafone silver partner Select Telecom
Vodafone platinum partners OneCom and Evolve Telecom have continued their acquisition drives with the purchase of Black Sheep Communications and Select Telecom respectively.
OneCom has acquired lead generation specialists Black Sheep for an undisclosed fee, with CEO Darren Ridge (pictured) claiming the deal will give it a significant advantage over its rivals because it will have a full overview of the business leads they are buying. Black Sheep’s office in Brighton will remain, as will the 21 people employed there.
It generates more than 1,000 appointments per month and focuses on B2B mobile and fixed-line contract renewals. It claims to have the UK’s largest B2B database, with over 200,000 mobile contract expiry dates.
It is OneCom’s first acquisition since its foundation in June following the merger of platinum partner Premier Telecom and fixed line firm Business Phones Direct.
Ridge said: “This is a unique acquisition and will take a lot of opportunities away from our competitors in the industry by enabling us to see what business leads they have been buying from Black Sheep.”
Connection boost
Fellow platinum partner Evolve Telecom has completed the acquisition of Newcastle-based dealer Select Telecom. The deal adds around 2,000 Vodafone connections to Evolve’s base, taking its total to 83,000.
It is Evolve’s third acquisition this year. In April, it bought gold partner Fenchurch Communications to add 6,000 connections to its base and it followed this up a month later with the acquisition of platinum partner Quore Technology, adding 9,000 lines.
As part of the deal, Select has acquired the in-car installation business of CBS Communications, which was owned by Evolve. The company has now been rebranded as Select-CBS.