Harvest Partners and Investcorp have recapitalized PRO Unlimited, a provider of software and IT managed services to large enterprises. As part of the transaction, Investcorp will re-invest in the company, taking a minority stake in the new capital structure. Investcorp and Mumtalakat, the investment arm of the Kingdom of Bahrain, acquired PRO Unlimited in October 2014.
PRO Unlimited, through its vendor-neutral Managed Services Program (MSP) and Vendor Management Software (VMS) products, enables companies to address the costs, risks (tax and benefit liabilities), and quality issues associated with managing a contingent workforce such as temps, independent contractors, and consultants. The company’s products and services are used for e-procurement and management of contingent labor, 1099/co-employment risk management, and third-party payroll for client-sourced contract talent. PRO Unlimited was founded in 1991 by CEO Andrew Schultz and is based in Boca Raton (www.prounlimited.com).
“We acquired PRO Unlimited in October 2014 because we knew the company had significant growth potential”
According to Harvest Partners and Investcorp, PRO Unlimited is one of the fastest growing providers of software and managed services to large enterprises. Since its founding, all of the company’s 
growth has been organic. “PRO Unlimited fits perfectly with our investment philosophy of backing first class management teams managing first class companies who provide proven, value-added outsourced services to corporations,” said Ira Kleinman, Senior Managing Director at Harvest Partners. “Harvest Partners looks forward to deploying our industry expertise, financial resources, and extensive network to elevate PRO Unlimited as the company continues to gain market share.”
Harvest Partners invests in companies with $20 million to $100 million of EBITDA and total enterprise values of $100 million to $1 billion. Sectors of interest include business services & consumer; healthcare services; industrial services; and manufacturing & distribution. The firm was founded in 1981 and is based in New York (www.harvestpartners.com).
“We acquired PRO Unlimited in October 2014 because we knew the company had significant growth potential given the strong secular tailwinds and its leading market position,” said Maud Brown, Managing Director of Corporate Investment in North America at Investcorp. “During our ownership term we worked closely with the company’s management team to grow the business, focusing on new enterprise client wins and key investments in technology, marketing and sales. We continue to have conviction in the long-term market trends and look forward to building upon our relationship with PRO Unlimited and partnering with Harvest to capture additional opportunities.”
Investcorp invests in mid-size companies that have total enterprise values of between $200 million and $1 billion and are located in North America or Western Europe. The firm has interests in an array of industries and is effectively industry agnostic. Investcorp has approximately 390 employees and maintains offices in New York; London; Doha, Qatar; Manama, Bahrain; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Abu Dhabi, UAE; and Singapore (www.investcorp.com).
BofA Merrill Lynch and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey were the financial advisors to PRO Unlimited and William Blair was the financial advisor to Harvest Partners.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of May 2017.
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | April 10, 2017
