Kalkomey Enterprises, a portfolio company Inverness Graham, has been acquired by Cove Hill Partners.
Kalkomey is a provider of online recreational safety education, certifications, and cloud-based agency management services. The company’s customers include outdoor enthusiasts and state and local government agencies in all 50 US states, as well as Australia, Canada, Guam, Mexico, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom. The company, led by CEO Jason Alexander, was founded in 1995 by Kurt and Cindy Kalkomey and is headquartered north of Dallas in Farmers Branch, Texas.
Through Kalkomey’s online learning systems, the company provides regulatory-approved safety education courses and certifications for outdoor recreational activities, including boating, hunting, snowmobiling, off-roading, and scuba diving. Each year, the company trains and certifies nearly one million outdoor enthusiasts. Kalkomey’s agency management services are provided to state agencies to manage licensing and registration, certification, and event management compliance and reporting.
Inverness Graham acquired Kalkomey in December 2015. “We are thrilled with what the team at Kalkomey has been able to accomplish during our hold,” said Michael Morrissey, a managing principal at Inverness Graham. “Kalkomey’s investment in software and content greatly expanded the company’s addressable market while also delivering tremendous value to its partners and customers.”
During Inverness Graham’s just over four-year hold period, Kalkomey closed three add-on acquisitions with the buys of Dive RAID Training, a provider of online dive training courses (April 2018); Fresh Air Educators, a provider of online safety training courses for boating, hunting, and snowmobiling (August 2017); and Outdoor Roadmap, a provider of online hunting safety and education courses (April 2016).
“In addition to our organic growth strategy, these three add-on acquisitions expanded our e-learning solutions in both existing and new vertical markets,” added Mr. Morrissey. “Through these initiatives and other key investments, we were able to triple both revenue and EBITDA during our hold period.”
“Inverness Graham was a true partner from the start,” said Mr. Alexander. “They worked shoulder-to-shoulder with us to put together a laser-focused strategy that laid out a roadmap of a combination of key strategic acquisitions and organic initiatives that allowed us to become a leader in our industry. We look forward to building on this momentum and are excited for what the future holds at Kalkomey.”
Inverness Graham manages $500 million in capital and was formed by senior executives of the Graham Group, an industrial and investment concern with interests in plastics, packaging, recycling, building products and outsourced manufacturing. The firm is based near Philadelphia in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.
Boston-based Cove Hill makes control and influential minority investments in North American-based consumer and technology companies that have enterprise values of up to $800 million. The firm was founded in September 2017 when it closed its $1 billion first fund. Cove Hill intends to build a portfolio of up to eight companies and will focus on longer-term investments with an average duration of eight or nine years.
“This partnership with Cove Hill will help Kalkomey not only in maintaining its leadership status in safety education and agency management but also in continuing to make innovations in the outdoor recreation industry,” said Mr. Alexander. “We look forward to continuing to grow and evolve with Cove Hill.”
Twin Brook Capital Partners, the middle-market direct lending arm of Angelo Gordon, served as administrative agent on debt financing to support the acquisition of Kalkomey by Cove Hill.
Chicago-based Twin Brook focuses on loans to private equity-owned companies with EBITDA between $3 million and $50 million, with an emphasis on companies with $25 million of EBITDA and below. The firm targets senior financing opportunities up to $200 million, with hold sizes across the platform ranging from $25 million up to $150 million. Twin Brook’s products include opportunistic investments in second lien, mezzanine, and equity co-investments.
Harris Williams was the financial advisor to Kalkomey on the transaction.
Private Equity Professional | May 7, 2020
