CHARLOTTE – Global technology services firm Endava (NYSE: DAVA) has acquired Charlotte-headquartered Levvel LLC, which provides technology strategy, consulting, and engineering services, in a deal announced Thursday.
Endava CEO John Cotterell, which had 7,464 employees as of December 31, 2020, distributed in offices across North America, Western Europe, and Australia, and delivery centers in Eastern Europe and South America, welcomed 172 Levvel operational employees in a statement, stating that the company and its employee’s “approach to digital transformation and innovative culture are well aligned.”
All Levvel employees will retain their position, and no personnel changes are planned or expected, said Chris Hart, Levvel CEO and co-founder, in an interview with WRAL TechWire. According to Hart, the company will operate independently for the remainder of 2021 as the company integrates into Endava operations, and Hart will continue to lead the Levvel team.
In 2020, Levvel was named one of Inc. Magazine’s “Best Workplaces,” along with 386 other companies out of more than 3,000 that applied.
“We’ve enjoyed recognition for our fast growth and the great workplace that we’ve built,” said Hart. “At the same time, we saw that we would be in an even better position to help our clients if we were a larger company with a global footprint.
The company had also been named to the Inc. 5000 list, which designates the fastest-growing U.S.-based companies, each of the last three years.
“Ultimately we measure our success by how much value we can deliver for our clients and our ability to support our employees. Joining Endava made it possible for us to do more of both,” said Hart.
In December, the company updated its brand position and website, noting in a blog post that the release came after months of “taking an introspective look at who Levvel is, why we do what we do, and how to communicate that clearly.”
Hart noted that this change reflected the evolution of the company in how they describe their services. “This expression of our capabilities highlighted how aligned they are to Endava’s focus on re-imagining the relationship between people and technology,” he said.
Earlier in 2020, Levvel Digital, a division of the company, released its first product, the Zimulator, which was designed to be a digital product that would allow banks to test and prepare for certification for Zelle. The product is a cloud-hosted simulation of the Zelle payments network that banks can use to test integrations of the underlying technology.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Levvel also maintains a team based in Raleigh.
According to PitchBook, Levvel received approximately $3.06 million through the CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program in April 2020. Founded in 2013, the company raised $1.5 million in equity from 15 investors in 2018 after raising $2.3 million in March 2017. According to its website, Levvel is currently hiring for multiple positions, and nearly all are listed as remote-based positions. North Carolina Business News Wire reported that the company had more than 200 employees in November 2018.
