Birch Equity Partners has closed its first transaction through an investment in Tempo Telecom, a provider of prepaid and discount telecommunications services.
“Birch Equity Partners’ decision to invest in Tempo was an easy one,” said Vincent Oddo, Managing Partner. “We observed the historical growth and the excitement in the marketplace for prepaid and Lifeline services and knew this was an expansion-stage business that had great potential.”
Tempo Telecom is a provider of prepaid and discount communications services for either traditional landlines or wireless. The company offers discounts to consumers through the FCC-sponsored Lifeline program (through the Universal Service Fund) which provides a discount on phone service for qualifying low-income consumers. Tempo is based in Kansas City, MO and was founded in 1996 (www.mytempo.com).
“In addition to growth capital, Birch Equity will also be providing management expertise and several back-office and call center services to Tempo,” said Mr. Oddo. “We believe this multi-faceted approach to supporting a growth-stage business like Tempo will allow the company to expand exponentially over the next several years, and beyond.”
Birch Equity Partners was launched in January 2014 by Holcombe Green, Jr., Vincent Oddo and Dr. R. Kirby Godsey. The firm makes minority and control investments of $1 million to $10 million in companies with $5 million to $50 million of revenue. Sectors of interest include business services, consumer services, education, telecom and broadband services, entertainment, internet and media, financial services, healthcare, information services, and technology. Birch Equity is based in Atlanta (www.birchequity.com).
Mr. Oddo has spent his entire 30-year career working with companies in the telecommunications and technology industries. He also serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Birch Communications, an IP-based communications and cloud services provider headquartered in Atlanta.
Commenting on the launch of Birch last month Mr. Oddo said, “Birch Equity Partners has been a vision of ours for some time and we are excited to finally get started. Our success growing and operating Birch Communications over the past 18 years has enabled us to develop a unique set of assets and resources which we think will be very valuable to small and mid-sized expansion-stage businesses that are seeking capital as well as practical management expertise and a unique set of back-office capabilities.”
© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 2-25-14
