CHICAGO, Dec. 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AVANT, the nation’s premier Technology Services Distributor (TSD) and the leader in IT decision-making, today announced a new strategic growth partnership with Court Square Capital Partners, along with reinvestment from AVANT’s current partner, Pamlico Capital.
AVANT’s executive leadership — including Ian Kieninger, Co-Founder and CEO, and Drew Lydecker, Co-Founder and President — will retain significant ownership and continue overseeing the company’s strategy and day-to-day operations. AVANT’s team, culture, and mission remain unchanged.
Why Court Square Is the Right Partner
Court Square Capital Partners has a long-standing track record of partnering with founders and management teams to help scale middle-market companies into market leaders. Their hands-on, collaborative approach and long-term investment philosophy align closely with AVANT’s culture and commitment to excellence in advisor enablement.
“The addition of Court Square as a capital partner supports AVANT’s continued growth in delivering the industry’s most comprehensive enablement for Trusted Advisors. This investment marks the next phase in AVANT’s evolution,” said Kieninger. “Court Square’s expertise will enable us to strengthen our capabilities to thoughtfully meet the growing needs of our Trusted Advisors and the businesses they serve.”
Founded in 2009, AVANT has grown into the industry’s leading sales-enablement company for Trusted Advisors. It provides its global network of partners with the research, tools, training, and expertise needed to guide organizations through IT decisions across communication services, cloud infrastructure, security services, unified communication, contact center services and AI solutions.
“AVANT stood out to us for its clarity of vision, strong leadership, and commitment to elevating the Trusted Advisor model,” said Matt Dennett, Partner, Court Square Capital Partners. “The company has built an impressive foundation and a culture focused on continuous improvement. We look forward to partnering with Ian, Drew, and the AVANT team to support the next chapter of growth.”
Pamlico Continues as an Investment Partner
Originally investing in AVANT in 2021, Pamlico Capital will remain a key part of AVANT’s future with its reinvestment. “Pamlico is a phenomenal partner and guide, supporting continued technology investment in the innovation of Pathfinder, a platform for Trusted Advisors, the acquisition of PlanetONE and CX Effect, and scaling of AVANT’s Trusted Advisor sales enablement and support resources,” said Drew Lydecker, President and Co-Founder. “In the era of business reinvention and the impact of disruptive technologies including AI, we’re excited to have Pamlico continue on our journey of empowering Trusted Advisors.”
“The Trusted Advisor remains our North Star,” said Andrew Tindel, Partner at Pamlico. “AVANT has created tremendous momentum, pursuing a focused strategy to serve its rapidly growing ecosystem of Trusted Advisors with its industry-leading platform, technologies, and services. Court Square shares our strategic vision for AVANT, and we are excited to reinvest alongside them in partnership with Ian, Drew, and the entire talented AVANT team to continue serving the Trusted Advisor community.”
Lazard Frères & Co. served as exclusive financial advisor to AVANT.
About AVANT
AVANT is the leading platform for IT decision-making and the premier distributor of next-generation technologies. AVANT equips its global network of Trusted Advisors with research, tools, training, and insights to help organizations make data-driven decisions across cloud, security, communications, and network solutions. For additional information, please visit www.goavant.net.
About Court Square Capital Partners
Court Square is a middle market private equity firm with over 40 years’ experience in the industry. Since 1979, Court Square has completed over 245 platform investments and is focused on helping Founders, Families, and Manager-owners to develop their companies into leaders in their respective markets. Court Square invests in companies that have compelling growth potential in the industrial, business services, healthcare, and tech and telecom sectors. As of September 30, 2025, Court Square has $10.1 billion of assets under management and is based in New York, N.Y. For more information on Court Square, please visit www.courtsquare.com.
About Pamlico Capital Partners
Pamlico Capital is a private equity firm founded in 1988 that invests in growing middle-market companies in North America. Pamlico Capital seeks control-oriented growth equity and buyout investments of up to $200 million alongside founders and proven leaders in its target sectors: communications, healthcare IT, information services, software, and tech-enabled services. The firm, based in Charlotte, NC, has assets under management of more than $5.0 billion. For additional information, please visit www.pamlicocapital.com.
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