Founded in 2008 by Ben Lessani, Sonassi has grown to become a leading provider of fully managed Magento hosting and support services to over 280 global SME customers, who are using Magento 1 and Magento 2 as their online shopping platform.
Most of Sonassi’s customers are based in the UK, however it has experienced customer growth in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Sonassi’s team has extensive experience of delivering complex Magento hosting and e-commerce related solutions. The technical team is also widely recognised as the go to provider for Magento Solutions.
The shareholder of Sonassi had been approached by a number of corporates that had expressed interest in acquiring the business. As a result, the shareholder wanted to run a full sale process in order to achieve the best price for the business.
We ran a competitive process, with much interest coming from Corporates and Private Equity investors. iomart Group plc emerged as the preferred partner for Sonassi and provided its shareholder with the best outcome.
During the process we ran into complications with the data being exported by the financial system used by Sonassi we worked closely with the shareholder, Sonassi’s accountant and iomart to resolve this. As a result, the structure of the deal changed but we were able to negotiate a greater earnout upside for our client.
Sonassi’s experienced technical and management team will remain in the business to drive growth and integrate it within iomart’s e-commerce division. We provided lead advisory, management advisory and tax advisory services, enabling a seamless and joined up process for all parties and securing the best outcome for our client.
“Going through a sale is complex, requiring a number of different skills. Ranging from sourcing and creating a competitive atmosphere of buyers, to financial review, forecasts, due diligence and SPA negotiation. The underlying point is that finance and figures dominate and dictate the success of the process. As a leading accountancy firm, Grant Thornton were able to provide exemplary understanding, control and support for what is most definitely a numbers game.”
Ben Lessani CEO, Sonassi Holding Company Limited
