Archives for April 3, 2014

Boathouse Acquires US and UK Ops of MIS Training Institute

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Boathouse Capital has partnered with the management team and employees of MIS Training Institute to acquire the US and UK operations of the company from its parent, Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. The acquisition and carve-out was completed through the formation of an employee stock ownership plan.

MIS Training Institute was founded in 1978 and is a provider of professional education and training in the areas of internal audit, IT audit, and information security management.  The company’s curriculum is delivered through live, in-person events including public seminars, in-house training, and conferences that are held throughout North America, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), and Asia.  MIS Training Institute is based west of Boston in Southborough, MA (www.misti.com).

“As a stand-alone entity and bolstered by Boathouse’s investment, MIS Training Institute will be able to accelerate its growth trajectory, dedicate additional resources to enhance its seminar curriculum, better attract and retain talent, add new conferences, and expand its library of on-demand webinar courses,” said Linda Burton, CEO of MIS Training Institute.

Boathouse Capital invests mezzanine debt and equity in lower middle market companies in partnership with management teams and private equity funds. Boathouse will consider investments from $3 million to $15 million in either mezzanine debt or equity capital in companies with EBITDAs of $2 million or greater.  The firm is based near Philadelphia in Wayne, PA (www.boathousecapital.com).

“We are excited about partnering with the management team and believe the ESOP structure will align the organization to work together towards a common goal,” said Chong Moua, Partner of Boathouse Capital and a now a Director of MIS Training Institute.

Deerpath Capital (www.deerpathcapital.com) and CMS Mezzanine (www.cmsmezz.com) provided the senior and mezzanine financing for this transaction.

Berkery Noyes (www.berkerynoyes.com) advised MIS Training Institute and Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC.  White and Williams represented Boathouse Capital.

© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-3-14

Victory Park Acquires Surefire

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Victory Park Capital has acquired nearly all of the assets of Surefire Industries USA, a maker of equipment used in the oil and gas industry. Post closing, Victory Park will operate the business under the name Surefire Industries, LLC.

Surefire Industries manufactures and supplies equipment for onshore and offshore hydraulic fracturing, coiled tubing, cementing, nitrogen and fluid pumping services. Surefire employs approximately 150 people and is headquartered in Houston with an additional office in Dallas (www.surefireusa.com).

Surefire Industries is led by President C. Jim “Jamie” Stewart, IV. “The asset purchase by Victory Park puts an end to a challenging 12 months and affords us a new start with a new balance sheet. The professionals at VPC understand our business, our customer base, and what’s required to ensure that our business remains at the forefront of the pressure pumping equipment and services industry,” said Mr. Stewart.

“Surefire represents an excellent opportunity for VPC to leverage its experience in the energy and oilfield services sectors,” said Derek Ferguson, Vice President with VPC. “We see significant opportunity for Surefire as a company with a strong balance sheet and innovative equipment designs. The company has an experienced management team and a highly skilled employee base committed to developing Surefire into a world-class supplier of diversified equipment and solutions for the global pressure pumping industry.”

Victory Park Capital (VPC) invests from $10 million to $50 million per transaction in small cap public companies and middle market private companies that typically generate less than $150 million in revenue and less than $30 million of EBITDA. The firm focuses on complex situations and seeks to build long term sustainable value in its companies. Victory Park was founded in 2007 and is based in Chicago with additional offices in Boston, New York and San Francisco (www.victoryparkcapital.com).

© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-3-14

Ancor and Merit Exit Carex Health

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Ancor Capital Partners and Merit Capital Partners have sold their portfolio company Carex Health Brands to Roscoe Medical, a portfolio company of Tenex Capital Management.

Carex Health Brands sells home healthcare products including home medical equipment, medication compliance, and reusable hot/cold products sold through pharmaceutical wholesalers, durable medical equipment dealers and national retail FDM (food, drug and mass merchants) chains. Brand names include Carex, Apex, Bed Buddy and TheraMed. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Boston (www.carex.com).

Ancor and Merit acquired Carex Health Brands in 2010, and led the company through three strategic acquisitions to in order to diversify its product line and customer base. Carex is the fifth investment that Merit has made in partnership with Ancor.

“We are extremely proud of the accomplishments that Carex has made in the three years since we acquired the company,” said J. Randall Keene, Managing Director at Ancor. “During this time frame, we made acquisitions of Detach N’ Go, Uplift Technologies and Thermionics. The company also experienced organic growth by adding new customers and further penetrating existing customers. We are deeply appreciative of the management team and the partnership they embraced with Ancor and Merit.”

Ancor Capital Partners invests in companies with enterprise value of $25 million to $150 million that have EBITDAs from $5 million to $15 million. Sectors of interest include manufacturing, distribution, health care, consumer staples, and outsourcing. The firm is based in Fort Worth (www.ancorcapital.com).

Merit Capital Partners invests mezzanine and equity capital of $20 million to $60 million in companies with at least $5 million of EBITDA that are active in the manufacturing, distribution and services industries. Merit is currently investing its fifth fund, Merit Mezzanine Fund V, LP, with total commitments of $612.5 million. The firm was founded in 1993 and is based in Chicago (www.meritcapital.com).

Roscoe Medical, acquired by Tenex in July 2013, is a manufacturer and distributor of healthcare products such as pain management; respiratory therapy; home medical equipment; sleep therapy; and health and beauty products. The company has relationships with over 3,100 customers that serve patient and consumer care end markets including chiropractors, physical therapists, pain management physicians, internet retailers and home care dealers. Roscoe Medical is headquartered south of Cleveland in Strongsville, OH (www.roscoemedical.com).

Tenex Capital Management invests up to $100 million in middle-market companies in the transportation, industrial, manufacturing, and health and business services sectors. The firm has $452 million of committed capital and is based in New York (www.tenexcm.com).

“The chemistry we had with Ancor and Merit, coupled with their insight and commitment to capitalize external growth, enabled us to build the product and customer diversity that appealed to Roscoe Medical,” said Matt McElduff, President of Carex. “We look forward to this next stage of growth.”

© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-3-14

Spire Capital Acquires Iron Data’s TSM Division

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Spire Capital has acquired Accuship.com, LLC, the transportation spend management division of Iron Data Solutions (Iron Data TSM). This investment marks Spire’s third transaction for its third fund, Spire Capital Partners III.

Iron Data TSM provides software-enabled transportation spend management services that allow its customer to optimize their transportation spend. The company serves multiple end markets including consumer, retail, manufacturing, technology, telecommunications, financial services, and healthcare. Over 30 Fortune 500 companies are existing customers of Iron Data TSM. The company has more than 140 employees and is headquartered in Memphis with additional locations in St. Simons, GA; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Shenzhen, China; and Manila, Philippines (www.Accuship.com).

Spire partnered on this transaction with the existing management team of Iron Data TSM, led by the company’s President, Jerry Rau.

“We are excited to partner with Jerry and the other members of his management team,” said Sean White, Partner of Spire Capital. “The company has developed a strong base of Fortune 500 clients and our strategy will be to invest significant resources into new product development as well as sales and marketing efforts.”

Senior debt for this transaction was provided by Webster Bank. Iron Data Solutions was advised by investment bank Stifel and Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton served as counsel to the company. Denton’s served as legal counsel to Spire Capital.

“We believe that the TSM solution sector has significant global growth potential given the magnitude and complexity of today’s global supply chains,” said Ben Meyer, Principal of Spire. “Iron Data TSM is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this market growth potential.”

Spire Capital Partners invests from $15 million to $40 million in companies with revenues of at least $10 million and EBITDAs of $5 million. Sectors of interest include business services, information services, media, education and communications. Spire Capital is investing out of its third fund and has managed over $700 million in private equity commitments since its founding in 2000. The firm is led by partners Andy Armstrong, Bruce Hernandez, David Schaible and Sean White and is based in New York with an additional office in West Conshohocken, PA (www.spirecapital.com).

© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-3-14

Eric Rahe Joins J.C. Flowers from CD&R

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J.C. Flowers & Co. has added Eric Rahe to its team as a new Managing Director in New York.

“Eric’s experience makes him an excellent fit for our sector-focused investment strategy,” said J. Christopher Flowers, Chief Executive Officer of J.C. Flowers & Co. “He brings considerable depth in both balance sheet and services‐oriented sectors of the industry as well as an exceptional track record of identifying great companies and management teams and helping companies capture growth opportunities. We look forward to his contributions.”

Mr. Rahe has nearly 20 years of experience investing in the financial services industry. Since 2008, he has been a Managing Director at Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, where he established and led the firm’s financial services practice. Previously, Mr. Rahe was a senior investment professional at the hedge fund SAB Capital, and before that a Partner at Capital Z Partners, the financial services focused private equity firm. He started his career at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. He holds an AB in Economics from Harvard College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

“J.C. Flowers is one of the preeminent global investors in financial services, and I am excited to be joining their team,” said Mr. Rahe. “I look forward to helping the firm continue to invest successfully in the industry.”

J.C. Flowers & Co. invests globally in the financial services industry. Founded in 1998, the firm has invested over $14 billion of capital in 15 countries across a range of industry subsectors, including banking, insurance and reinsurance, investment banking and brokerage, and specialty finance. J.C. Flowers & Co. has offices in New York and London (www.jcfco.com).

© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-3-14