Clairvest's 4.6x Return on F12.net Spotlights PE Tech Playbook

TORONTO, ON – December 12, 2025 – In a move that underscores the potent combination of entrepreneurial leadership and strategic private equity, Clairvest Group Inc. has announced the successful recapitalization of F12.net, a leading Canadian managed service provider (MSP). The deal marks a lucrative exit for Clairvest after a five-year partnership, generating a remarkable 4.6 times multiple on invested capital and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 35%.

The transaction sees a new, unnamed middle-market private equity firm acquire a majority stake, while F12.net's founder and CEO, Alex Webb, alongside his executive team, have chosen to meaningfully reinvest. This structure signals strong confidence in the company's future trajectory and provides a powerful case study in value creation within the booming technology services sector.

Clairvest, including its Clairvest Equity Partners VI fund, will receive approximately CAD$163 million in sale proceeds. For the publicly traded Clairvest Group Inc. (TSX: CVG), this translates to CAD$44 million and a positive impact of roughly $1.50 per share on its book value, a significant win for its investors and a testament to its investment thesis.

A Blueprint for Hypergrowth

The partnership, initiated in November 2020, was founded on a clear objective: to scale F12.net's platform across new geographies and verticals. The results speak for themselves. Over the past five years, F12.net has seen its revenue grow by over 2.5 times and its EBITDA expand by an even more impressive 3.5 times. This wasn't a matter of luck; it was the execution of a deliberate value creation plan.

This growth was fueled by a dual-pronged strategy combining best-in-class organic expansion with a series of complementary acquisitions. This approach allowed F12.net to not only increase its customer base, which now includes over 20,000 users, but also to deepen its service capabilities and solidify its national footprint with offices across Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario.

"From the outset, we were drawn to F12’s relentless focus on service delivery and a clear ambition to become the leading managed technology services platform in Canada," said Mitch Green, Managing Director at Clairvest. "Over the course of our partnership, the team successfully expanded F12’s capabilities and achieved best-in-class customer and productivity metrics."

This statement highlights the core of the Clairvest model: identifying strong, founder-led businesses and providing the capital and strategic oversight to help them achieve their full potential. The success was built on a shared vision, a point echoed by F12.net's founder.

"We partnered with Clairvest in 2020 because of their decade-plus track record of successfully backing entrepreneurs in the technology services sector," stated Alex Webb. "With a shared vision, we reached key milestones together and built a platform delivering industry-leading KPIs."

Riding the Wave of Canada's Tech Transformation

The F12.net deal does not exist in a vacuum. It is indicative of powerful trends sweeping across the Canadian IT landscape. The nation's small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are undergoing a rapid digital transformation, increasing their reliance on sophisticated external partners for everything from cloud migration to cybersecurity.

This environment has made MSPs like F12.net incredibly valuable. They are the essential enablers of modernization for the backbone of the Canadian economy. The market is experiencing significant consolidation, with larger platforms acquiring smaller, specialized firms to gain a competitive edge. F12.net has been an active participant in this trend, using acquisitions to strategically enhance its service portfolio.

A prime example is its acquisition of AMTRA Solutions in July 2025. This move was not just about adding revenue; it was a strategic masterstroke to deepen its expertise in high-demand Microsoft Cloud, AI, and security services. By integrating AMTRA's specialized knowledge in Azure, Microsoft Copilot, and Modern Work solutions, F12.net positioned itself at the forefront of the next wave of business technology, moving beyond traditional managed IT to become a premier Microsoft-focused solutions provider.

The Clairvest Method: A Pattern of Success

For Clairvest, the F12.net exit is not an outlier but the latest confirmation of a proven formula. This marks the firm's third highly successful realization in the technology services sector, building on a history that includes a 7.8x multiple on its investment in Meriplex Communications and a 3.2x multiple from Peer 1 Networks.

Founded in 1987, Clairvest has cultivated a reputation for being a partner to entrepreneurs, not just a provider of capital. The firm's strategy often involves taking minority stakes and aligning its interests directly with the owner-operators who built the businesses. With over CAD$4.3 billion of capital under management and a history of over 430 add-on acquisitions completed across its portfolio companies, Clairvest has demonstrated a consistent ability to identify and scale promising enterprises.

This track record provides a clear playbook for private equity success in the services sector: back strong management teams, foster a culture of operational excellence, and use strategic M&A to accelerate growth and build a market-leading platform. The F12.net investment perfectly embodies this philosophy.

A New Era of Growth for F12.net

With fresh capital from its new growth-oriented majority owner and the continued leadership of its founding executive team, F12.net is poised for its next chapter. The reinvestment by Alex Webb and his team is a crucial vote of confidence, ensuring leadership continuity and a consistent strategic vision.

That vision is clearly focused on acceleration. The company will likely leverage its new financial backing to pursue further acquisitions, continuing the consolidation strategy that proved so effective under Clairvest. Furthermore, the integration of AMTRA Solutions' capabilities signals a deeper push into high-value, specialized services around AI and cloud complexity, helping clients navigate an increasingly intricate technological environment.

As Alex Webb noted, the goal is to "continue raising the bar for service delivery across Canada." Bolstered by a stronger balance sheet and a clear strategic focus, F12.net is well-equipped to solidify its position as the dominant managed services provider for Canadian businesses, turning the page from one successful partnership to begin writing the next chapter of its growth story.