Thompson Street Capital Partners (TSCP) has made an investment in National Arbitration & Mediation, a provider of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services.
National Arbitration & Mediation (NAM) specializes in providing arbitration and mediation services to resolve civil disputes outside traditional courtroom settings. To deliver these services, NAM employs a panel of over 2,600 former judges and legal practitioners which, in the jargon of the industry, are known as “neutrals.”
NAM has more than 10,000 customers including law firms, government entities, companies, and more than half of the Fortune 100. The company, led by CEO Jason Brennan, was founded in 1992 by Roy Israel and is headquartered in New York City.
“It was important for me to find a financial partner that had experience investing behind growth, provided a strong cultural fit for the NAM team, and shared our vision for the company’s future,” said Mr. Israel. “With Thompson Street Capital Partners, we achieved these goals and we look forward to continued collaboration with their team.”
“Our investment philosophy places a premium on partnering collaboratively with founders and management teams operating in defensible market categories,” said JC Wetzel, a managing director at TSCP. “NAM is a strong example of this dynamic and represents a leader in its legal services niche, an area in which we are excited to be investing.”
The new investment from TSCP will be used to expand NAM’s service offerings, expand its geographic footprint, and integrate new legal services technologies.
“NAM is poised to continue providing our clients with exceptional service levels across a wide range of core ADR services while also capitalizing on the opportunity to offer new layers of value through geographic expansion and new and innovative tech-enabled service offerings,” said Mr. Brennan. “We are excited to partner with TSCP to pursue these actionable strategic initiatives, which will include both organic expansion projects as well as M&A.”
According to IBIS World, global ADR services is an $8 billion market with the US market estimated at more than $560 million. Several consulting firms estimate that the global market for ADR services will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 6.5% to reach $11.7 billion in 2030.
NAM operates in a competitive landscape within the ADR services market. The top five competitors to NAM include California-based and privately held JAMS (a former portfolio company of Warburg Pincus); Illinois-based and privately held ADR Systems; New York-based and not-for-profit American Arbitration Association; New York-based and not-for-profit FINRA Dispute Resolution Services; and New York-based and not-for-profit Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution.
“NAM’s operating capabilities, scale, and reputation position the company very well to take advantage of secular tailwinds in the ADR services category,” said Clayton Milburn, a director at TSCP. “Management has built what we feel is an ideal platform from which to execute several compelling growth strategies and we are thrilled to partner with the NAM team as the company enters its next chapter.”
St. Louis-based TSCP makes equity investments of $50 million to $250 million in companies with EBITDA between $5 million and $50 million. Sectors of interest include healthcare and life science services, software and technology services, and business and consumer products and services.
© 2024 Private Equity Professional | July 23, 2024
