Argosy Private Equity has sold its investment in Library Systems & Services (LSS), a provider of outsourced services to public and government libraries.
LS&S’ services include operations, budgeting, identifying and obtaining grants, library automation, and community outreach programs. LS&S, led by CEO Todd Frager, is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland with an additional location in Riverside, California.
LS&S was founded in 1981 and currently services more than 20 library systems that operate 75 individual libraries across California (10 systems), Tennessee (3); Florida (3); Texas (2), Kansas and Virginia. According to LS&S, it is the largest library outsourcing company in the United States.
Argosy acquired LS&S in January 2015 and over the course of its ownership planned and executed numerous operational improvements, upgraded the senior staff, increased service offerings – including the in-house development of LibraryIQ, a proprietary cloud-based analytics program – and expanded the company geographically. These shareholder value efforts are referred to by Argosy as its Value Acceleration Methodology (VAM).
“LS&S is a remarkable company with an amazing team. It provides essential library services to strengthen communities. The company is a true double bottom-line business,” said Don Charlton, a partner at Argosy. “During our investment period and through Argosy’s VAM, we strengthened its management team, upgraded its business systems, built out a world-class marketing group, re-engineered the sales process and developed exciting new products to make libraries more efficient and effective.”
“Argosy has been a trusted advisor and partner to the LS&S leadership team,” said Mr. Frager. “The counsel and strategic guidance provided by Don Charlton was integral to the evolution and performance of the business. Argosy’s VAM tools improved our ability to grow the business. The success of our exit was amplified by Argosy.”
Argosy invests from $5 million to $25 million in lower middle-market companies that have revenues up to $100 million, EBITDA up to $10 million, and EBITDA margins of 10% or greater. Sectors of interest include niche manufacturing and business-to-business services companies.
“Many thought ‘Why invest in libraries? Aren’t libraries going away?’ We believe that libraries are more important than ever to communities and LS&S managed libraries consistently perform better,” concluded Mr. Charlton. “We at Argosy are proud of the work done to help make LS&S what it is today and its ability to better serve its communities.”
Argosy Private Equity is a division of Argosy Capital, an investment adviser with $1.7 billion of assets under management. The firm was founded in 1990 and is headquartered near Philadelphia in Wayne, Pennsylvania.
The buyer of LS&S was not made known to Private Equity Professional at the time of publication of this article.
© 2021 Private Equity Professional | July 15, 2021
