The company behind a series of mergers and acquisitions in the National Capital Region has picked Austin, Tex., for its first expansion south of the border.
Ottawa-based M&A consultancy Sampford Advisors announced the new office in an email to OBJ this week.
Sampford, which expanded its offices to Toronto three years ago, has made a splash in the capital after five years in business. The company has helped facilitate acquisitions for Solufy, ConceptShare and Martello, to name a few local examples.
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The choice of Austin reflects the growing prominence of tech in markets across the United States, Sampford CEO Ed Bryant told OBJ.
While the Bay Area was once the hub for all things technology, the growing demand for engineers and tech entrepreneurs in mid-size markets is quickly increasing, he said. That, along with the surge in Austin’s population and corporate hirings, makes it a prime location for Sampford’s first U.S. office, Bryant added.
He noted that in the past five years Austin has seen 200 tech mergers, with nearly 600 across Texas overall. The city is also home to more than 15 startup incubators and is the birthplace of software successes such as BigCommerce and Indeed.
“Austin shares a lot of parallels with our current Canadian markets of Ottawa and Toronto with a large and growing tech scene,” said Bryant.
Most of Sampford’s buying clients are based in the U.S. already. And the consultancy has hopes of representing more U.S. clients going forward.
Mike Lambrix, who currently works for Sampford out of Florida, will head up the company’s operations in Austin.
