Today, a Pro AV integrator that started in a small city in North Dakota back in 1974 has expanded its global footprint in a big way. FORTÉ, which recently announced plans to separate from GPA at the end of the year, has acquired Vega Global, a systems integrator with a significant presence across the APAC region.
FORTÉ acquired the international company through Chicago-based Baird Capital, which acquired a majority stake in Vega back in 2020. Terms of the acquisition between the two private companies were not disclosed. Jeff Stoebner, chairman and CEO of FORTÉ, told SCN that while the company remains committed to its local and regional customers, this move "accelerates our ambition of being as close to our global customers as possible."
With the acquisition, FORTÉ now has team members in more than 20 countries and offers AV solutions and managed services in more than 70 major markets. Based in Minneapolis, FORTÉ is already established in Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, in addition to 42 office locations in the United States. Now, it adds offices in Australia, Mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam.
Vega brings more than 750 employees to FORTÉ, growing the company's workforce by roughly 50%. According to Stoebner, plans call for adding more technicians to Vega operations in the near future. "I'm excited about growing a global brand," he added.
Eventually, Vega will adopt the FORTÉ brand. However, Stoebner expects it will likely take close to a year to change the name. During the transition, it will be known as Vega Global, A FORTÉ Company. Steven Medeiros, who currently leads Vega, will remain with the company as CEO of FORTÉ Asia.
Stoebner said FORTÉ specifically targeted Vega because the company is "growing nicely in a market that is growing nicely." He said the APAC region will generate close to $200 million in Pro AV business this year, and Vega has been growing at a rate of 14% CAGR.
When it comes to multinational customers, Stoebner said the questions are less about the technology or even the price. Instead, it's about coverage. "We're working to build the answer for that type of customer, the global customer," he said.
While cloud-based solutions and AI are certainly impacting Pro AV deployments, Stoebner argued most of the customer investment is still in hardware. "There's a physical nature to what we do," he explained. "There's a lot of hardware … and that hardware requires technicians to integrate and support. What’s been true for a long time is you have to have people, trucks, and tools as close to the customer as possible."
With the Vega acquisition, FORTÉ is building a model where it can better manage the quality of its global delivery of services. Stoebner said the company learned a lot from its partnership with GPA over the past six years—but now it's focused on applying that knowledge and investing in its own infrastructure.
"We want to enhance the customer experience end-to-end under the FORTÉ brand," Stoebner added. "This acquisition is not the end of our journey, but it is another important milestone."
