Same Owner, New Org Chart

On October 1, CallTower closed its purchase of Momentum Telecom’s cloud voice and collaboration business, a deal that moved more than 3,500 customers and over 250 employees and took CallTower past 8,500 customers^1,2. It reads like a routine tuck-in, except that the buyer and the seller answer to the same owner, and an advisor recommending either company should now treat that owner as part of the recommendation.

Court Square Capital Partners bought a majority of CallTower in April while already owning Momentum^3,4, and six months later it moved a business line, a customer base and a leadership bench from one company to the other. A handful of private equity sponsors now hold TSDs, advisor platforms and suppliers at the same time, and they carve those companies apart and put them back together as the portfolio requires. CallTower and Momentum are the clearest current example of how that works.

Who moved

The customer count made the headlines, but the org chart says more, because four of Momentum’s senior leaders now run technology, operations, people and legal at CallTower¹:

More than 250 Momentum employees made the same move¹, and some of them work with advisors directly. Sean Cramer, who led channel sales in the West as a VP at Momentum, is now Senior Sales Director of the West at CallTower²⁰. For advisors in that region, the person who managed their Momentum UC relationship now manages it at CallTower, and the relationship followed the product.

Bret England stays on as CallTower’s CEO, and Todd Zittrouer stays on as Momentum’s¹.

A sort, not a sale

Dechert, Court Square’s counsel, advised both Momentum and Court Square on the deal and described it as combining parts of two Court Square portfolio companies³, so nobody was negotiating at arm’s length.

Momentum keeps its global network connectivity and managed services businesses under its own name, and CallTower takes the employees, technology and customer relationships of the cloud voice and collaboration business^1,2. Court Square went from owning two companies that sold overlapping UC services into the same channel to owning one UC and CX company and one connectivity company, each with a simpler story for its eventual buyer.

What Court Square holds today

Court Square’s channel holdings now include a TSD and several of the suppliers that sell through it²⁰.

A sponsor’s job is to raise the value of everything it owns, and it does that by shaping strategy at each company. AVANT’s team has little reason to care how Court Square’s other companies perform, but the firm that backs AVANT does. Court Square partner Matt Dennett led the AVANT investment⁵, and co-founder David Thomas has served on Momentum’s board⁷. Whether Court Square holds a seat on AVANT’s board has not been publicly disclosed.

What could happen next

None of the following has been announced, and each item extends what Court Square owns today and what it just did with CallTower and Momentum.

1. Talent keeps flowing between sister companies. Expect partner managers and sales engineers to rotate between CallTower, Momentum and Thrive as each company’s needs shift, the way the executives and channel leaders already have. Your channel manager at one supplier may turn up at its sister next quarter with your relationships in hand.
2. Cross-sell between portfolio companies becomes a motion. CallTower’s voice and collaboration customers, Momentum’s connectivity and Thrive’s managed IT and security add up to a full-stack offer sold under three logos with one owner, so expect joint offers, shared promotions and referral programs between them.
3. Ordinary TSD levers get a second look. Every TSD allocates joint marketing dollars, event sponsorships, featured placements and strategic supplier designations, and when a supplier and its distributor share an owner, advisors will want to know who decides where they go.
4. More carve-outs, then a reassembly. Splitting UC from connectivity makes each company easier to sell and easier to merge with a third party. Court Square closed a roughly $3.8 billion fifth fund in April 2026⁸, so it has the money for the next add-on.
5. Commission and contract terms on moved accounts change quietly. More than 3,500 Momentum customers now sit on CallTower paper¹, so advisors with residuals on any of those accounts should confirm who pays them now, on what terms, and whether renewals or rate cards changed in the transfer.

The same playbook, elsewhere

Court Square has company, and some of it sits on more than one side of the table.

Charlesbank: the advisor platform and the supplier. Since 2021 Charlesbank has backed Bridgepointe, an advisor platform that has completed more than 55 acquisitions, and in April 2026 it led a new round with Carlyle AlpInvest that valued Bridgepointe at over $1 billion⁹. On September 30, Charlesbank also closed the merger of Spectrotel and AireSpring and led a new investment in the combined company, one of the larger channel-first network suppliers¹⁰.

Grain Management: the people move, again. Before Charlesbank arrived, Grain funded Spectrotel’s 2025 acquisition of Mosaic NetworX, and Mosaic’s COO, VP of Strategic Alliances and VP of Sales joined Spectrotel in the deal^11,12. Grain reinvested in the combined Spectrotel and AireSpring¹³ and also owns a majority of 123NET, a Michigan fiber and colocation provider that sells through the channel^14,20.

Riata Capital and Coeo: the classic roll-up. Riata led a recapitalization of Coeo Solutions in August 2025¹⁵, and Coeo has since acquired S-NET Communications in May 2026 and NetWolves in August 2026^16,17. All three are consolidating into one company under the Coeo name²⁰. This is the older playbook, with one platform absorbing smaller providers into a single brand, and advisors feel it the same way, because familiar logos disappear and channel teams, contracts and commission terms get folded into one.

Columbia Capital and Digital Realty: still open. In August we reported that Digital Realty agreed to acquire Columbia Capital, which holds stakes in Telarus and Bluewave^18,19. Telarus CEO Adam Edwards told us the transaction did not include the Columbia fund that invested in Telarus and that no ownership, board seat or influence was created, and Bluewave’s CEO said the same of its position. We have not independently verified either statement, and the structure of the remaining Columbia funds after the acquisition has not been disclosed¹⁹.

Questions Trusted Advisors should be asking

1. Who owns this supplier, and who owns my TSD or advisor platform? A sponsor’s portfolio page answers both in five minutes, so make it part of every supplier review.
2. How are placement and marketing dollars allocated? Ask whether featured status, MDF or event sponsorship changes when a supplier and a TSD share an owner. A good partner will answer directly.
3. What happens to my residuals if accounts move? If a supplier carves out a business line to a sister company, get the new commission terms in writing.
4. Is my channel manager about to change logos? Relationships move with the people who hold them, so know who your backup contact is.
5. Would I recommend this supplier on fit alone? If the answer is yes, recommend it with confidence, whoever owns it.

Bottom line

The CallTower and Momentum deal is small by private equity standards, but it shows that a sponsor with companies across the channel will rearrange their customers, people and product lines when it suits the portfolio. Charlesbank, Grain and Riata are running versions of the same play.

Consolidation is how private equity makes its returns, and advisors will often benefit from larger, better-capitalized partners. It also means the supplier, the TSD and the next acquirer may all answer to the same sponsor, so recommending what fits the customer now starts with knowing who owns whom, who moved where and whose terms changed.