Pamlico Capital and HarbourVest Partners have made a growth equity investment in Secure-24, an application hosting and cloud services company with a focus on ERP applications from SAP and Oracle.
Secure-24 provides managed IT operations, ERP application hosting and cloud computing services to mid-market and Fortune 500 companies in the manufacturing, technology, consumer goods, chemicals, financial services, construction, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and transportation sectors. The company was founded in 2001 and is based in Southfield, MI (www.secure-24.com).
“We focus on making equity investments in growing and profitable industry-leading technology companies. Secure-24 has demonstrated all the characteristics we look for; an experienced and highly capable management team, a strong competitive position, an industry-leading technology platform, and a superior service delivery model. Secure-24’s focus on helping companies increase business value through their IT investments provides them the opportunity for impressive growth in the years ahead,” said Pamlico Partner Scott Stevens.
The co-founders of Secure 24, Volker Straub and Matthias Horch, will retain significant ownership of Secure-24 and will continue to manage the growth of the company. As part of this transaction, Secure-24 has recruited industry veteran Michael Jennings to join the Secure-24 management team. Mr. Jennings was co-founder and CTO of Appshop, a leader in Oracle ERP hosting.
“We are extremely happy to partner with Pamlico because of its track record supporting companies and entrepreneurs as a growth capital provider,” said Mr. Horch, Secure-24 CEO. “Secure-24 has seen tremendous demand for IT infrastructure and application outsourcing services and is poised to continue to grow as companies focus on building strategic partnerships to reduce costs and improve the operation of advanced and complex IT systems. The expertise and resources Pamlico brings to our team will be critical assets to accelerate innovation, growth and market leadership.”
Pamlico Capital, formerly known as Wachovia Capital Partners, was founded in 1988 and has invested in excess of $3.5 billion in over 200 middle market companies since its inception. Pamlico Capital seeks growth equity and buyout investments of up to $100 million alongside management teams in its target industries, which include business & technology services, communications, and healthcare. The firm currently manages over $2 billion in assets and is based in Charlotte, NC (www.pamlicocapital.com).
Oppenheimer & Co. acted as Secure-24’s exclusive financial advisor in connection with the transaction.
© 2012 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 9-27-12