Forum Merger Corporation, and ConvergeOne, Inc., a leading global IT services provider of collaboration and technology solutions, today announced that they have completed their previously announced business combination. The business combination was approved at a special meeting of stockholders of Forum on February 20, 2018, and closed on February 22, 2018. In connection with the transaction, Forum has changed its name to ConvergeOne Holdings, Inc. ("ConvergeOne" or the "Company"). The shares of common stock of ConvergeOne will begin trading on the Nasdaq today, February 23, 2018, under the symbol "CVON" and the warrants of ConvergeOne will trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol "CVONW." Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. ("Clearlake"), ConvergeOne's current private equity sponsor, will remain the largest stockholder in the combined company. This combination positions ConvergeOne to continue to execute on the compelling growth opportunities in the rapidly evolving IT and managed services markets.
"The completion of this transaction and listing on the Nasdaq signifies a momentous milestone for ConvergeOne," said John A McKenna Jr, Chairman and CEO of ConvergeOne. "With a twenty-five-year legacy combined with a solid long-term vision for growth and value, we are thrilled with the opportunity ahead of us. Taking our company public is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the entire ConvergeOne team, who share in the vision, mission, and values to continue our journey together, one customer success at a time."
David Boris, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Forum, stated, "ConvergeOne's leadership team has done a tremendous job of establishing the company as one of the most proven and trusted independent providers of IT services and collaboration solutions in the market today."
Marshall Kiev, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Forum, stated, "Our goal was to not just find an investment, but a true partner with a strong financial profile, a time-tested business model and a platform that allows for steady, continued growth. ConvergeOne has exceeded all those expectations, and we're excited to watch John and the ConvergeOne team build on their legacy of success as a public company under continued private equity leadership."
Behdad Eghbali, Managing Partner and Co-Founder at Clearlake, added, "Since our initial investment, ConvergeOne has executed on its buy-and-build strategy and rapidly grown its managed services capabilities to become a clear market leader. We are proud of our partnership and accomplishments with ConvergeOne's world-class team and are excited about the prospects of ConvergeOne as a public company. We remain a significant stockholder and look forward to continuing our partnership with the ConvergeOne management team as they continue ConvergeOne's strategic growth initiatives."
J.P. Morgan, Credit Suisse, UBS Investment Bank, William Blair, Raymond James, Jefferies, Needham and BTIG, LLC acted as financial advisors to ConvergeOne and Clearlake. Cooley LLP and Hogan Lovells served as legal counsel to ConvergeOne and Clearlake. Evercore, EarlyBirdCapital and Cowen Group served as financial advisors to Forum. Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP served as legal counsel to Forum.
About ConvergeOne
Founded in 1993, ConvergeOne is a leading global IT service provider of collaboration and technology solutions for large and medium enterprise with decades of experience assisting customers to transform their digital infrastructure and realize a return on investment. Over 7,200 enterprise and mid-market customers trust ConvergeOne with collaboration, enterprise networking, data center, cloud and security solutions to achieve business outcomes. Our investments in cloud infrastructure and managed services provide transformational opportunities for customers to achieve financial and operational benefits with leading technologies. ConvergeOne has partnerships with more than 300 global industry leaders, including Avaya, Cisco, IBM, Genesys and Microsoft to customize specific business outcomes. We deliver solutions with a full life cycle approach including strategy, design and implementation with professional, managed and support services. ConvergeOne holds more than 2,100 technical certifications across hundreds of engineers throughout North America including three Customer Success Centers. More information is available at www.convergeone.com.
About Forum
Forum Merger Corporation is a blank check company formed for the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. Forum Merger Corporation is led by Executive Chairman Stephen A. Vogel, Co-Chief Executive Officer and President Marshall Kiev and Co-Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer David Boris. More information is available at www.forummerger.com.
About Clearlake
Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. is a leading private investment firm founded in 2006. With a sector-focused approach, the firm seeks to partner with world-class management teams by providing patient, long-term capital to dynamic businesses that can benefit from Clearlake's operational improvement approach, O.P.S.® The firm's core target sectors are software and technology-enabled services; industrials and energy; and consumer. Clearlake currently has approximately $7 billion of assets under management and its senior investment principals have led or co-led over 100 investments. More information is available at www.clearlake.com.
