Business

Falfurrias Capital Partners Exits UC Synergetic

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Falfurrias Capital Partners announced today that it has signed an agreement to sell its ownership interest in UC Synergetic, a provider of energy and communications engineering, consulting and technical services, to a subsidiary of Pike Electric Corporation. “Falfurrias has been an exceptional partner for our company, from both a strategic and a financial perspective,” said UC Synergetic CEO Mike Kistner. “Even during the height of the recession, Falfurrias supported our decision to maintain the highest level of service despite challenging market conditions. Our managers are excited to begin the company’s next phase of growth as a part of the Pike team.”

UC Synergetic is a national engineering, technical services and consulting company. Capabilities include power engineering and design (both transmission and distribution); gas distribution design; energy delivery consulting; wireless, cable, and cellular network infrastructure engineering. UC Synergetic is based in Charlotte, NC with major offices in Atlanta; Boston; Columbus; Dallas; Denver; Raleigh and Tampa as well as regional offices throughout the U.S. (www.ucsynergetic.com).

By focusing on maintaining the highest level of client service and by expanding into the high-growth communications, transmission, and substation engineering markets through highly accretive acquisitions, UC Synergetic achieved exceptional financial results, nearly tripling its base revenue and profitability since the Falfurrias acquisition in 2007.

“When we made our investment in UC Synergetic, we were attracted to the industry trends that had driven the company’s successful track record for the previous two decades,” said Ed McMahan, Partner with Falfurrias Capital Partners. “During our investment period, the UC Synergetic management team successfully navigated the unexpected challenges that proved daunting for many of the company’s competitors, providing an attractive enterprise for Pike.”

Falfurrias Capital Partners makes equity investments of at least $3 million in companies with revenues in excess of $10 million and EBITDAs in excess of $2 million. Industries of interest include financial services; consumer products; health care; building products; diversified manufacturing; business services; education, training, and information services; and infrastructure services. Falfurrias was founded by former Bank of America Chairman and CEO Hugh McColl Jr. and former Bank of America CFO Marc Oken. The firm is based in Charlotte, NC (www.falfurriascapital.com).

Falfurrias was advised on the transaction by BlackArch Partners, a middle-market investment bank offering investment banking services to financial sponsors, private companies and corporations, including dedicated industry verticals for Energy and Infrastructure & Construction. The firm is based in Charlotte, NC (www.blackarchpartners.com).

GCP Capital Partners Invests in XL Marketing

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XL Marketing, a digital and direct marketing company, today announced an investment by private equity firm GCP Capital Partners as well as a debt facility agented by Madison Capital Funding. The $70 million capital raise will be used by XL Marketing to fund continued growth through organic business activities, as well as strategic acquisitions.

“The shift to digital and XL’s unique client offerings makes this the ideal time for innovative companies to create value. We believe XL Marketing is uniquely positioned to help its clients capture the full potential of their online marketing efforts,” said Robert Niehaus, Chairman and Founder of GCP Capital Partners, who will also be joining the company’s board of directors.

XL Marketing is a digital and direct marketing company that uses its consumer marketing platform to generate high quality customers for leading brands. The platform encompasses all interactive channels including email, search, social media and call center. The company focuses on several sectors including financial services, education, insurance and health & wellness. XL Marketing has more than 200 employees and is headquartered in New York with offices in Washington DC, Tampa, San Francisco and London and Bristol in the UK (www.xlmarketing.com).

“We are thrilled to bring on such stellar partners to help us take the company to the next level,” said David Steinberg, XL Marketing CEO. “As we continue to execute on our growth plans in the US, UK and other international markets, it was essential to secure the right kind of capital, with the right partners. We now have the balance sheet, strategic partners and assets and capabilities to compete and win in every market where we play.”

GCP Capital Partners manages three private equity funds that have invested $1.2 billion in 49 portfolio companies. GCP has monetized 35 of these investments, returning $2.2 billion in proceeds. The funds have made significant investments in the business services, education, energy, financial services, insurance and telecommunications industries. GCP generally makes controlling or influential minority investments of $10 million to $50 million in companies with enterprise values of $20 million to $250 million. GCP Capital Partners was formed as the successor to Greenhill Capital Partners, the merchant banking business of Greenhill & Co., Inc. (NYSE: GHL), which was founded in 2000. With the support of Greenhill & Co., the founders and senior investment professionals of Greenhill Capital Partners founded GCP Capital in December 2009 to manage the existing Greenhill Capital Partners funds and to raise successor funds. The firm is headquartered in New York, NY (www.greenhillcapitalpartners.com).