Tailwind Capital has acquired Lieberman Research Worldwide, a market research and data analytics company.
Lieberman Research Worldwide (LRW) is considered to be one of the 25 largest marketing research firms in the world. The company provides data-driven consulting services on issues such as strategy, branding, communications, new product development, and customer experience. LRW’s clients are active in a range of industries including pharmaceutical, technology, consumer packaged goods, healthcare, retail, food service, financial and business services, and automotive. The company was founded in 1973 and has more than 400 employees. LRW is headquartered in Los Angeles with additional offices in Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, and London (www.lrwonline.com).
LRW’s Chairman and CEO Dave Sackman and President, Jeff Reynolds will continue in their roles and remain significant owners of the business. “The market research industry is at an inflection point, and we see tremendous opportunity. Our partnership with Tailwind will enable us to innovate even more rapidly than we have the past few years and to meet the changing needs of chief marketing officers and their organizations,” said Mr. Sackman.
“This transaction represents a tremendous opportunity for Tailwind to invest in a proven winner that provides high quality services to a dynamic industry in the midst of a transformation,” said Adam Stulberger, a Partner at Tailwind. “LRW has an experienced management team and is well-positioned for future growth and expansion through both organic initiatives and acquisitions.”
Tailwind makes investments of $25 million to $100 million in lower middle market companies with enterprise values of up to $300 million that are active in the healthcare, business and communications services sectors. Since its founding in 2003, Tailwind has invested over $1 billion in 27 portfolio companies and has completed over 65 add-on acquisitions. The firm has 27 investment professionals and senior operating executives and is based in New York (www.tailwind.com).
Earlier this month, Tailwind held a final closing of Tailwind Capital Partners II, LP with $1.05 billion of committed capital. This exceeded the fund’s $750 million target. Tailwind’s first fund was raised in 2009 with $775 million of capital.
Intrepid Investment Bankers (www.intrepidib.com) was the exclusive financial advisor to Lieberman Research Worldwide. “Intrepid’s team executed a robust process, generating widespread interest. We’re excited about future opportunities with our new partners,” said Mr. Sackman.
© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 7-10-15