Business Services

Kilmer Capital Partners Acquires Atelka

by

It was announced today that Kilmer Capital Partners has acquired a majority interest in Atelka, a contract management services company. “This transaction will allow us to inject new funds in the organization in order to sustain its performance, expand our services and explore new markets,” said Georges Karam, CEO of Atelka.

Atelka is a call center outsourcing company providing services to North American telecommunications and media companies. The company has more than 2500 employees and five locations. Atelka was founded in 2003 and is based in Montreal (www.atelka.com).

“We are proud to partner with Georges and his team. For the last nine years, Atelka has experienced intensive growth and has been able to position itself as one of Canada’s largest companies in the sector while maintaining excellent financial health. We look forward to being part of the company’s exciting growth plans and providing our support to the team in the coming years,” said Marie-Claude Boisvert, responsible for Kilmer’s investment in Atelka.

Kilmer Capital Partners makes control and minority investments of $5 million to $50 million in companies that have revenues from $20 million to $200 million. The firm is industry agnostic but has a specific interest in the electronics, communications, technology, food, apparel, healthcare, consumer products, media and entertainment sectors. Kilmer Capital is based in Toronto (www.kilmercapital.com).

Comvest Group Invests in Primo Water

by

The Comvest Group, through its debt fund, Comvest Capital II L.P., has provided a $15.1 million term loan to Primo Water Corporation, a national provider of water dispensers, bulk bottled water and sparkling beverage appliances. “These new financing arrangements provide Primo with flexibility to execute our growth plans across our product lines,” said Primo CFO Mark Castaneda. “Comvest has been a responsive and flexible partner and we are appreciative of their efforts to meet our capital needs.”

Primo Water Corporation (NASDAQ: PRMW) is a provider of three- and five-gallon purified bottled water, self-serve filtered drinking water, water dispensers and carbonating beverage appliances sold through major retailers in the United States and Canada. Primo was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Winston-Salem, NC (
). “The management team at Primo has a great track record in founding and growing Blue Rhino Corporation,” said Managing Director Greg Reynolds of Comvest Capital. “We believe this experience ideally positions Primo for continued growth as it becomes the leading provider of water solutions to retailers.”

The Comvest Group provides debt and equity to middle-market companies. For debt investments the firm will invest from $2 million to $20 million per transaction in companies with $10 million to $200 million of revenue that have positive or negative EBITDA. For equity investments the firm will invest from $10 million to $50 million per transaction in companies with $15 million to $500 million of revenue that have positive or negative EBITDA. Since 2000 Comvest has invested more than $1.5 billion of capital in over 105 public and private companies worldwide. The firm is based in West Palm Beach, FL (www.comvest.com).

H.I.G. Capital Acquires Comverge

by

H.I.G. Capital today announced the acquisition of Comverge, a provider of energy management services. “We believe that the intelligent energy management and demand response industries will continue to grow quickly supported by a rebounding economy, aging power infrastructure, more stringent environmental regulations and a strong value proposition. With the support and expertise available to it as an H.I.G. portfolio company, Comverge is well-positioned to take advantage of this growth with a leading market position and differentiated product offering,” said Brian Schwartz of H.I.G. Capital.

Comverge is a provider of intelligent energy management services that allow utilities, commercial and industrial users and homeowners to use energy in a more effective and efficient manner. The company’s product offering includes hardware, software and services used to manage peak electricity demand and has a strong value proposition by providing enhanced grid reliability at a lower cost relative to power plants. The company has over 500 utility and 2,100 commercial customers and over one million residential participants in its service programs. Comverge is based in Norcross, GA (www.comverge.com).

H.I.G. Capital specializes in providing capital to small and medium-sized companies and invests in management-led buyouts and recapitalizations of manufacturing or service businesses. Since its founding, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 200 companies and the firm’s current portfolio includes companies with combined revenues in excess of $8 billion. H.I.G. Capital has more than $8.5 billion of equity capital under management and is based in Miami, FL and has other offices in Atlanta, GA; Boston, MA; San Francisco, CA; London, UK; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Hamburg, Germany; and Paris, France (www.higcapital.com).

Thompson Street, Charterhouse Group, and Cequel III Acquire TierPoint

by

Cequel Data Centers, a portfolio company of Thompson Street Capital Partners, Charterhouse Group, and Cequel III, today announced the acquisition of TierPoint, a regional provider of colocation, managed IT and cloud computing services.

TierPoint operates three data centers in the greater Spokane, WA area, representing over 30,000 combined square feet of raised-floor, data-center space and almost 4.4 megawatts of total facility power. With its prior acquisitions – including facilities in Dallas, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa – Cequel Data Centers now owns and operates more than 100,000 square feet of raised-floor, data-center space. The company is based in Liberty Lake, WA (www.tierpoint.com).

“Situated in one of the safest areas of the United States, with relatively low power costs and high fiber connectivity, the TierPoint acquisition provides us with geographic diversity and fits well with our overall strategy of acquiring data centers in key markets that position us to respond to the growing demand for colocation, managed I.T. and cloud computing services,” said Paul Estes, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cequel Data Centers.

RBC Capital Markets acted as financial advisor to the sellers and was the sole lead arranger and sole bookrunner for the debt financing associated with this acquisition. Goldman Sachs, CapitalSource Bank, US Bank, ING Capital, and CoBank also participated in the credit facility.

Thompson Street Capital Partners makes investments in manufacturing, service and distribution businesses with annual revenues between $20 million and $200 million, and a minimum EBITDA of $5 million. Thompson Street partners with management in recapitalizations, management buyouts, corporate divestitures, family businesses in transition and take-private transactions. The firm was founded in 2000 and is based in St. Louis, MO (www.tscp.com).

Charterhouse has invested in excess of $2.0 billion in equity and established over 100 platform companies with a focus in the business services, healthcare services and consumer products and services sectors. Charterhouse Group seeks to invest in established middle-market businesses with enterprise values between $50 million and $300 million. The company was founded in 1973 and is located in New York, NY (www.charterhousegroup.com).

Cequel III is an investment and management firm, established in January 2002 by partners Jerry Kent, Howard Wood, and Dan Bergstein. The company is based in St. Louis, MO (www.cequel3.com).