ARCHITECT SUCCESSES

SEE ALL
Swyftx Acquires Caleb & Brown
Swyftx Acquires Caleb & Brown

Transaction Overview

On July 1st, 2025, Swyftx, one of the largest Australian cryptocurrency exchanges, announced a definitive agreement to acquire Caleb & Brown, a high-net-worth-focused crypto brokerage, for an undisclosed amount.

 

Target: Caleb & Brown

Caleb and Brown is a Melbourne-based, high net worth focused crypto brokerage that specializes in personalized trading services across the digital asset landscape. Caleb & Brown focuses on the relationship model used successfully across traditional  financial services – every client that comes onto their platform gets assigned a broker to assist them in executing trades  and handling all customer service needs. Caleb and Brown’s core services include 1) Brokerage Services, which provide personalized 24/7 trading support for 250+ digital assets, 2) an OTC Desk, which provides high volume trading solutions with deep liquidity and competitive pricing, 3) the Caleb and Brown Asset Management, an actively managed crypto asset fund for accredited investor, 4) crypto custody. 

 

The business has more than AUD $2 billion of digital assets under custody and was founded by Rupert Hackett and Dr. Prash Puspanathan in 2016. C&B is led by CEO Jackson Zeng and has 64 team members across both Australia and the US. Caleb & Brown has not raised any outside capital. 

 

Architect Partners’ Observations

Architect Partners acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Caleb & Brown. 

 

Swyftx’s acquisition of Caleb & Brown marks the largest acquisition targeting high net worth crypto investors. It also reflects two important shifts in the evolution of crypto exchanges, particularly within the ANZ region.

 

First, high-net-worth client service is becoming a strategic differentiator. Exchanges are beginning to recognize that personalized brokerage and deep client relationships offer a competitive advantage while greatly reducing attrition. This is a model that high-net-worth clients are accustomed to in their financial lives. Caleb & Brown’s approach, which assigns a dedicated broker to every client, stands apart from the high-volume, low-touch models that dominate the market. Swyftx gains access not only to clients but also to an established business model that emphasizes trust, service, and retention in a way few crypto exchanges have pursued.

 

Second, this is a milestone moment for ANZ crypto M&A. While there have been many plays for global expansion by exchanges, this is the first of its kind in Australia moving into the US, signaling that the region is entering a more active phase of market maturity. 

 

We believe this transaction will serve as a catalyst for further strategic activity to expand globally and to augment services as companies seek differentiation in both product and customer segments.

 

Strategic Rationale

Swyftx is acquiring Caleb & Brown to expand into the United States via C&B’s regulatory framework, and to acquire the relationship model inherently required with a higher-tier customer base. This acquisition will grant Swyftx entry into the U.S. 12 to 24 months faster than otherwise possible organically. Furthermore, the acquisition diversifies Swyftx’s primarily retail client base to include 25k+ high net worth individuals in numerous countries. 

 

“Caleb & Brown has quietly established one of the most impressive brokerage offerings in the world, with a heavily differentiated private client service. We see enormous growth potential.” – Jason Titman

Ricoh Acquires mindSHIFT Technologies

On January 21, 2014, Ricoh announced the acquisition of Best Buy subsidiary mindSHIFT Technologies, a managed IT service provider, for an undisclosed amount. Architect Partners initiated this transaction and was the exclusive financial advisor to Ricoh.

mindSHIFT provides cloud, data center and professional IT services to more than 6,900 SMB and enterprise clients in 12 markets throughout the United States. mindSHIFT’s cloud services include cloud desktop, server, applications, VoIP and mobile device management. The company’s data center services include managed hosting, web hosting, colocation and disaster recovery. The company provides IT services for SMBs in verticals such as legal, healthcare, financial services, non-profit and education.

mindSHIFT is one of the top managed service providers in the United States, experiencing 28% client growth in the last two years. In June 2012, mindSHIFT acquired Texas-based White Glove Technologies, a competitor with 105 employees that specializes in managed IT services in similar verticals. mindSHIFT is consistently a top five-ranked company in MSPmentor’s 501 Survey and is also recognized on the Top 100 Cloud Services Provider (CSP) list.

mindSHIFT, headquartered in Waltham, MA, will continue to operate under its current name and management team. The company has 650 employees with offices in Boston, Chicago, Long Island, New York City, Minneapolis, Morrisville, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Austin, Houston, San Antonio and Dallas. Mona Abutaleb will continue as mindSHIFT’s President and CEO.

mindSHIFT was acquired by Best Buy in late 2011 to provide a layer of IT services above their Geek Squad consumer/SMB offerings. As Best Buy management and strategy changed, mindSHIFT no longer was strategic.

mindSHIFT’s biggest gap was in sales and marketing. Given Ricoh’s large customer base and existing field sales and service organization, this was a natural fit.

This was a competitive transaction, highlighting the attractiveness of managed services both to major service providers and to private equity investors.

Ricoh is seeking to transition into a services-led company, diversifying from its legacy as a product-centric company. With the acquisition of mindSHIFT, Ricoh will add attractive, high margin IT services that it can offer to its SMB client base and roll out to its broad dealer network.