ITRenew Acquires Splitted-Desktop Systems (SDS)

Silicon Valley-based ITRenew, Inc. (“ITRenew”) announced the completion of its acquisition (through ITRenew Worldwide, Inc., one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries) of Splitted-Desktop Systems SAS (“SDS”), a leading design and engineering firm focused on Open Hardware compute and storage systems based in France. The acquisition includes SDS’s US subsidiary, Horizon Computing Solutions.

The technology portfolio created by the combination will provide a unique set of solutions for some of the largest and most complex datacenter environments in the world. “Together with SDS, ITRenew is set to accelerate its growth in the enterprise hardware supply chain and continue its mission to disrupt and optimize the legacy datacenter hardware market” said Aidin Aghamiri, CEO of ITRenew. He added, “the cutting-edge technologies developed by SDS will enhance ITRenew’s capabilities to provide a best-in-class product portfolio of refurbished and recertified compute and storage solutions.”

SDS CEO Jean-Marie Verdun, who is joining ITRenew, said of the transaction, “The IT industry has been driven by a produce, consume, dispose cycle for the past 30 years. Today, it makes strategic sense to transition the industry to a more circular model, with the possibility to reuse servers beyond their original useful life.”

Backed by private equity firm ZMC, ITRenew is a leading global IT lifecycle management solutions provider, specializing in data center decommissioning, data erasure, and data security services. ITRenew’s technology-driven approach streamlines traditional data center decommissioning processes to deliver superior data and asset security, value recovery and IT sustainability.

SDS’s technologies include Linuxboot, an open source BIOS strategic initiative which has been developed in conjunction with some of the world’s largest technology companies. In addition, SDS has in-depth knowledge of open hardware, open source and related design tools. SDS has successfully developed a scalable recertification program focused on Open Compute hardware, which enables used data center equipment to operate at performance capabilities comparable to brand new equipment.

Aghamiri and Verdun point to the joint company’s focus on datacenter hardware innovation: “We share the same vision of disrupting hardware supply and offering market solutions in which reuse, sustainability, optimization, scale and performance intersect, thus opening doors for endless possibility for our clients,” they said.

Sidley Austin LLP and Gide Loyrette Nouel acted as legal advisors to ITRenew and Orrick,

Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP served as legal advisor to SDS and its sellers.

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

About ITRenew
Headquartered in the heart of Silicon Valley, ITRenew supports the data erasure and data center decommissioning needs of some of the most large-scale, data-rich, privacy-focused organizations in the world. ITRenew’s technology-driven approach streamlines traditional data center decommissioning processes to deliver superior data and asset security, value recovery and IT sustainability. ITRenew was designated a Visionary in the Magic Gartner Magic Quadrant for IT Asset Disposition, Worldwide and named to the 2016 Inc. 5000, finishing among the top 10 percent of all ranked companies in gross revenues.

About SDS
Splitted-Desktop Systems SAS is a France-based engineering firm focused on the design of computer and datacenter infrastructure utilizing Open Compute and open source technologies. SDS was founded in 2006 by Jean-Marie Verdun and is a member of the Open Compute Project having attained Gold status in 2015 recognizing SDS’s deep involvement in open hardware. The team has deep expertise in electrical engineering, mechanical and thermal studies, low-level firmware and software security and datacenter deployment management.

About ZMC
ZMC is a leading private equity firm comprised of experienced investors and executives that invest and manage a diverse group of media and communications enterprises. Founded in 2001, ZMC’s investment philosophy centers on operational value creation driven by targeted investment themes, deep sector expertise, and strong partnerships with industry and operating executives. ZMC approaches its investments in collaboration with management teams and has a successful track record of actively adding value to portfolio companies. ZMC is currently investing out of ZMC II, L.P. (www.zmclp.com)

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Contact information

Press:
ZMC:
Sheila Dharmarajan
Head of Business Development & Investor Relations
dharmarajan@zmc.com
or
ITRenew:
Aidin Aghamiri
Chief Executive Officer
aidin@itrenew.com