WestView Capital Partners has made a minority growth investment in Abacus Group, a provider of managed IT services. Abacus will continue to be majority-owned and operated by the company’s senior management team.
Abacus Group is a provider of managed IT services to the financial services industry with a specific focus on hedge funds and private equity funds. Abacus Group was founded in 2008 and is based in San Francisco with additional offices in the major financial hubs of New York, Boston, Greenwich, Dallas, Charlotte, Los Angeles, and London. Abacus Group is led by its co-founder and CEO Chris Grandi (www.abacusgroupllc.com).
The company added 51 new clients in the first half of 2017 and continues to grow at a rapid pace. “We see a significant opportunity in front of us right now,” said Mr. Grandi. “Investment managers rely heavily on technology but don’t want to be in the IT business. They are searching for best-of-breed providers, like Abacus, who take over their day to day IT needs while ensuring their environment is highly secure and available. Our partnership with WestView will provide us with additional capital and resources to continue to evolve the Abacus platform and execute on our long-term growth strategy.”
WestView Capital Partners makes majority and minority investments of $10 million to $50 million in lower middle market growth companies. Sectors of interest include healthcare services, business and technology services, software, industrial/manufacturing, and consumer/retail. Target companies will have operating profits between $3 million and $20 million. WestView manages approximately $1 billion in capital across three funds and is headquartered in Boston (www.wvcapital.com).
“We look forward to supporting Abacus’ management as they continue to capitalize on the growing opportunity for outsourced IT solutions within the financial services sector,” said Rick Williams, Managing Partner at WestView who will join the board of Abacus. “The company’s outstanding reputation and best-in-class offering coupled with a high-touch approach to customer service has enabled it to expand rapidly within the sector.”
Abacus Finance (not affiliated with Abacus Group) was the Administrative Agent and Sole Lead Arranger of senior secured credit facilities to support WestView’s investment in Abacus Group. “We have enjoyed a long-term relationship with Abacus Finance, and once again they took the time to fully understand the cash flow needs of the business and provided a financing solution to support growth,” said WestView Principal Greg Thomas. Abacus Finance team members involved in the transaction included Sean McKeever and Brian Green.
“Abacus Group is an established leader in the managed IT services industry serving the hedge fund and financial institutions market,” said Tim Clifford, President and CEO of Abacus Finance. “We were extremely impressed with the senior management team and are excited to be their financing partner as they embark on the next stage of growth. As in other transactions, our success was a function of our speed, cash-flow flexibility, and certainty of close – key aspects of what we call our Total Partnership Approach.”
Abacus Finance provides cash flow senior financing to private equity-sponsored, lower-middle market companies that have EBITDA between $3 million and $15 million. Debt facilities can be as large as $60 million with a typical hold size ranging from $10 million to $30 million. Abacus was formed in June 2011 and is an affiliate of New York Private Bank & Trust which was founded in 1850. Abacus is based in New York (www.abacusfinance.com).
New York-based Drake Star Partners (www.drakestar.com) was the financial advisor to Abacus Group on the transaction.
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | July 27, 2017
