Lower middle-market lender Tree Line Capital Partners has backed Longshore Capital Partners’ acquisition of Gen3 Marketing from LaSalle Capital.
Gen3 is a provider of digital marketing services, including pay-per-click, search engine optimization, and social media. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered near Philadelphia in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.
Longshore was formed in 2020 by LaSalle Capital professionals Ryan Anthony and Nicholas Christopher and closed its debut fund, Longshore Capital Fund I LP, with capital commitments of $203 million last August. In tandem with the closing of the new fund, Longshore acquired a controlling interest in Gen3 Marketing and four other business services companies from LaSalle (LaSalle acquired Gen3 in December 2017).
Tree Line provided a first lien credit facility to support Longshore’s buy of Gen3. “We have enjoyed building a lasting relationship with the Tree Line team and chose to work with Tree Line given the certainty to close they provided through an uncertain COVID-19 deal environment,” said Mr. Anthony. “Gen3 was one of the first platform investments in our inaugural Longshore fund and certainty to close was paramount. Tree Line moved quickly and spoke with confidence.”
“This transaction is a great example of our relationship-driven approach to direct lending,” said Stephan Schneck, a senior vice president of Tree Line. “Having completed past transactions with the Longshore team, we were able to leverage existing documentation and streamline the closing process. We recognize the value generated from buy and build strategies and are well equipped to execute these deals over a long relationship given our significant follow-on capital capacity.”
Tree Line provides first lien term loans, unitranche term loans, and equity co-investments to North America-based lower middle market companies that have EBITDA from $3 million to $30 million and transaction sizes up to $150 million. The firm has extensive direct lending experience – it has completed more than 110 transactions – across multiple economic cycles and has generated significant repeat investment opportunities from private equity sponsors. Tree Line is headquartered in San Francisco with additional offices in New York City, Los Angeles, and Austin.
Chicago-headquartered Longshore makes control investments in North America-based companies with $5 million to $15 million of EBITDA. Sectors of interest include business process outsourcing, revenue cycle management, and managed services and payments.
© 2020 Private Equity Professional | November 2, 2020
