Pamlico Capital has signed an agreement to sell its portfolio company Clear Link Technologies to Sykes Enterprises. Pamlico acquired Clearlink in January 2011. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the second quarter.
Clearlink is a provider of performance-based customer acquisition services to the home services and insurance markets. Clearlink provides its services through both online and offline marketing channels. Customers include telecommunications, satellite television, home security providers, and insurance companies. Clearlink is led by its CEO Phil Hansen. The company was founded in 2003 and is based in Salt Lake City (www.clearlink.com).
“Pamlico was an excellent partner that helped us achieve our strategic growth initiatives and continue to enhance our product capabilities to meet the demands of our customers,” said Mr. Hansen. “We have enjoyed our partnership with Pamlico and look forward to the next chapter of our story with Sykes.”
Sykes Enterprises (NASDAQ:SYKE) provides business process outsourcing services, IT consulting and IT-enabled services, such as technical support and customer service. The company was founded in 1977 and has approximately 48,000 employees at 75 locations in 20 countries. The company is headquartered in Tampa (www.sykes.com).
Pamlico Capital invests from $25 million to $100 million in companies with total enterprise values of between $50 million and $250 million. Sectors of interest include business and technology services, communications, and healthcare. Pamlico was founded in 1988 and is based in Charlotte (www.pamlicocapital.com).
“We enjoyed partnering with Phil Hansen and his team over the past five years as they significantly enhanced Clearlink’s value proposition to its customers and successfully expanded the addressable market through its entry into the insurance vertical, positioning the company for continued organic growth,” said Eric Wilkins, a Partner at Pamlico.
Financial advisors to Clearlink and Pamlico were Harris Williams (www.harriswilliams.com) and Petsky Prunier (www.petskyprunier.com). Alston & Bird (www.alston.com) provided legal services to Clearlink and Pamlico. Credit Suisse Securities (www.credit-suisse.com) served as the financial advisor to Sykes on the transaction, while Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick (www.slk-law.com) served as Sykes’ legal advisor.
© 2016 Private Equity Professional • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 3-9-16
