Diversified became CI’s 2016 Integrator of the Year with an aggressive approach to the market that included several high-profile additions that enhanced or launched its position in several vertical markets.[related]
That all-in style continued in 2017, when Diversified muscled its way into the number-two spot in annual revenue behind long-time industry leader AVI-SPL as the two firms jockey for the honor to be the first AV integrator to reach the $1 billion revenue plateau.
It looks like 2018 won’t be the year when Diversified takes its foot off the accelerator as the company has added U.K.-based Digitavia to the family with an acquisition the company leaders announced during InfoComm 2018 in Las Vegas last week.
“[An international presence] is what the customers are really saying needs to be there,” says Diversified chairman and CEO Fred D’Alessandro. The company has a Seoul, South Korea hub and now a global network operations center through the Digitavia deal.
All told, Diversified earned about $50 to $60 million in international revenue, and the Digitavia acquisition “will expand that quite a bit,” says D’Alessandro.
How Digitavia Acquisition Affects the Bought Company
It’s also an important step for Digitavia, says managing director Daryl Clarke.
“This is an opportunity for us to look at some more complex solutions,” he says. “We’ve traditionally been very niche.”
Diversified president and COO Kevin Collins calls the company’s European expansion “a natural evolution,” noting the companies first became acquainted when Diversified was in talks to acquire CompView, which was part of the Global AV Partnership with Digitavia and Unified AV Systems.
Diversified now boasts 10 divisions across the company, from broadcast to sports arenas.
The service component has become an increasingly important element of everyday life for the company in recent years and having a European hub will enhance the company’s ability to provide better service in that area, says D’Alessandro.
“We’re getting closer to fulfilling what the customers are asking of us,” he says.
