CompTIA to acquire MSP Partners

OAKBROOK TERRACE -- CompTIA, a trade association for the information technology industry, said today that it has agreed to acquire MSP Partners.

CompTIA has 142 employees worldwide, including 90 in Oakbrook Terrace. MSP Partners has four employees in Ottawa, Ontario. MSP Executive Director Jim Hamilton will join CompTIA as senior director of member relations starting Wednesday. The other employees are essentially "on loan" from companies that belong to MSP Partners, and they will return to those companies, said Comptia spokesman Steven Ostrowski.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The merger should close within the next 30 days, he said.

"CompTIA's mission is to further the interests and growth of the IT industry," Comptia President and CEO Todd Thibodeaux said in a statement . "We're fulfilling this mission by creating a series of robust vendor-neutral communities for the IT channel. The addition of MSP Partners to our managed services community positions us as the leading voice for managed services."

Since its launch in 2007, MSP Partners has experienced explosive growth - attracting 5,000 members and more than 40 sponsors; and has earned status as one of the best known and most respected providers of managed services education programs for the IT channel.

"MSP Partners will continue to offer the educational programs and events that our members, sponsors and partners have helped us develop over the past three years," MSP Executive Director Jim Hamilton said in a statement. "With the additional reach and resources of CompTIA, we'll be able to develop the preeminent community for the managed services market, featuring valuable business solutions, research, networking and discussion forums, and continuing education."

• Daily Herald Business Writer Anna Marie Kukec contributed to this report.