UPSTACK Secures $100M from MidCap Financial and Morgan Stanley Private Credit

Deal Affirms Cloud and Internet Infrastructure Platform's Continued Accelerated Growth and Development    

NEW YORK, Nov. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- UPSTACK, a profitable, fast-growing platform that transforms the architecture and sourcing experience for businesses seeking cloud and internet infrastructure solutions, announced today it has secured $100 million in financing from MidCap Financial and Morgan Stanley Private Credit. MidCap Financial is the Administrative Agent, Sole Arranger and Sole Bookrunner.

UPSTACK will use the financing to scale and expand its industry-transforming platform, which combines leading cloud and internet infrastructure advisors with proprietary software and support resources.

"This transaction further solidifies our position as the most financially sound and qualified investor in the IT Channel," said Christopher Trapp, Founder and CEO of UPSTACK. "Adding MidCap and Morgan Stanley Private Credit as capital partners strengthens our balance sheet and further enables UPSTACK to continue investing in the best and brightest businesses in our sector."

"As more businesses that provide products and services in the $4 trillion IT industry continue to rely on indirect sales as primary go-to-market strategy, UPSTACK has proved highly successful at investing in some of the most well-established and fastest-growing brokerages in the industry," said Dave Crescenzi, MidCap Financial. "We have been impressed with the team and the stability of the businesses that UPSTACK continues to attract."

"We are pleased to support UPSTACK on this transaction," said Sean Sullivan, Managing Director of Morgan Stanley Private Credit. "We're confident UPSTACK will use this financing opportunity to further scale the revenue and profitability of its business."

Berkshire Partners, UPSTACK's lead investor, was a sponsor for the financing deal and worked closely with UPSTACK throughout the transaction.

"I want to thank the Berkshire Partners Capital Markets team for their support in reaching an agreement with MidCap and Morgan Stanley," said Trapp. "Berkshire's expertise in the data center, connectivity and managed services sectors and their ongoing guidance continue to make them an excellent partner for UPSTACK."

Since its founding in 2017, UPSTACK has completed more than 1,000 data center, connectivity and cloud-based projects. To date, UPSTACK has acquired 13 independent agencies to become the largest and fastest-growing agency in the technology industry. The company continues to seek investments in category-leading telecom, cloud and connectivity firms.

Additional terms of the transactions with MidCap Financial and Morgan Stanley were not disclosed.

About UPSTACK

Launched in 2017 in New York, N.Y., UPSTACK is transforming the way cloud and internet infrastructure is sourced and sold. The company uses advanced technology to enable an extensive team of cloud infrastructure advisors to architect customized solutions for businesses of all sizes. With UPSTACK, business buyers streamline IT procurement by tapping into a single source for mission-critical technology services from hundreds of proven providers along with the professional guidance to identify and evaluate the best solutions. UPSTACK's service portfolio includes colocation and data center, network connectivity, SD-WAN, unified communications, cloud contact center, private and public cloud, security, mobile, business continuity and IoT. For more information, visit us at upstack.com.

About MidCap Financial

MidCap Financial is a middle market-focused, specialty finance firm that provides senior debt solutions to companies across all industries. We provide a broad array of products intended to finance growth and manage working capital. As of December 31, 2020, MidCap Financial provides management or other services for over $29.8 billion of commitments, of which $5 billion is managed by MidCap Financial Services Capital Management LLC, a registered investment advisor. At MidCap Financial, our years of experience, strong balance sheet, and flexibility make us the lender of choice for companies across all stages of growth and complexity. MidCap Financial is managed by Apollo Capital Management, L.P., a subsidiary of Apollo Global Management, Inc., pursuant to an investment management agreement. Loans made or arranged pursuant to a California Finance Lenders Law License. For more information, visit www.midcapfinancial.com.

About Morgan Stanley Private Credit

Morgan Stanley Private Credit, the primary private credit platform at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, provides flexible financing solutions to middle market companies. With over $10 billion of available capital, Morgan Stanley Private Credit offers first lien second lien, mezzanine, unitranche and annual recurring revenue (ARR) cash flow based loans, as well as structured equity and minority equity co-investments to sponsor-backed and non-sponsored companies with $5 million to $100+ million of EBITA across a variety of industries.

About Berkshire Partners

Berkshire Partners, a Boston-based firm, has 35 years of investment history. Berkshire Private Equity has made more than 135 private equity investments since its inception and has a strong history of partnering with management teams to grow the companies in which it invests.  The firm has deep sector expertise in multiple areas, including communications, consumer, healthcare, industrials, services, and technology. Example communications and technology investments include AHEAD, Asurion, Lightower, Masergy, Telx and Teraco Data Environments. For additional information and to see a full list of the firm's private equity investments, visit www.berkshirepartners.com.