Presidio made much of its money reselling equipment from partners such as Cisco, then wrapping its own engineers around the boxes. Those engineers designed networks, installed data center gear, moved workloads to the cloud and managed security. The customers were midsize companies across the United States. When Presidio filed to go public in 2017, it was a large but quiet business. Apollo, the private equity firm, had bought it two years earlier.

Built From Regional Firms

Presidio grew by buying regional IT service firms. The private equity firm Apollo bought the company in 2015 and prepared it for a public offering. The bet was that midsize businesses needed one trusted partner to handle complex technology. The shift to cloud and security would create steady demand for skilled engineers. Presidio's engineers held deep certifications with major vendors such as Cisco.

Below Range, Then BC Partners

Presidio priced at $14 a share in March 2017, below its expected range. The stock traded in a narrow band in the years that followed. In 2019 BC Partners agreed to buy the company for about $2.1 billion, including debt. Presidio became private again. It kept running as an IT services provider for customers across the United States, with its headquarters in New York.

Cover: Landscape with Rock and Fortress, Domenico Gargiuli (Micco Spadaro). Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a hilltop fortress (presidio).