A private equity-backed IT services company has acquired a 150-strong software asset management business.

York-headquartered Trustmarque, which is backed by One Equity Partners (OEP), has completed the acquisition of Livingstone, a global provider of software and cloud asset management and optimisation services, from sellers including Carlyle Europe Technology Partners.

Headquartered in Reading, UK, Livingstone Group’s 150-strong team manages client service contracts in more than 138 countries.

The deal marks the first step in Trustmarque’s strategy to accelerate the consolidation of mid-market IT services in the UK.

The company said the partnership with Livingstone would complement and strengthen Trustmarque’s existing capabilities in software asset management (SAM), cloud and licensing, offering superior returns on technology investment for its blue-chip customer base.

Ben Richardson, chief executive at Trustmarque, said: “Today marks an exciting milestone, as we welcome the Livingstone team to Trustmarque.

“This acquisition will enable us to leverage the data-driven knowledge of Livingstone to benefit Trustmarque’s customers. Together, we are ready to collaborate to deliver superior transparency and control over our customers’ IT investments.”

Trustmarque was acquired by One Equity Partners from Capita last year.

Chris Allan, chief executive at Livingstone, said: “Everyone at Livingstone is excited to join the growing Trustmarque family. Our combined expertise will create unrivalled end-to-end services across the software lifecycle for our customers. In Trustmarque, we recognised a partner with the same vision as ours: a commitment to ensuring our customers buy what they need, secure their environment, and renew it optimally.

“We look forward to working together to help all our customers harness the power of technology through smart IT investments.”

Trustmarque chairman Torgrim Takle added: “Today we embark on an extraordinary growth opportunity, becoming stronger and more adaptable through all the synergies with Livingstone. I’m confident that our strengthened combined capabilities will further support the cloud and digitalisation agenda of our key technology partners, particularly Microsoft and Cisco, while delivering an enhanced value proposition to all our collective customers.”

The Livingstone senior management team and colleagues will remain with the business following the transaction, and customers should continue to communicate with their existing contacts. 

Houlihan Lokey acted as the exclusive financial adviser to Livingstone.