The Riverside Company has made a majority investment in ARCOS, a provider of emergency response software used in the utility industry.
ARCOS provides a suite of SaaS products that automatically call and assemble crews to restore power, handle emergency work in power plants and fix gas and water leaks. The ARCOS suite automates complex crew callout and storm management processes for electric and gas utilities, power plants, and mutual assistance groups. ARCOS’ customer base includes 21 of the top 25 utilities in the US. The company is based in Columbus, OH (www.arcos-inc.com).
“ARCOS is a market-leading provider of mission-critical software to the utilities industry,” said Riverside Managing Partner Loren Schlachet. “With utilities facing enormous pressure from regulators and customers for better reliability, improved restoration times and transparency, the ARCOS software suite is the perfect solution to the perfect storm.”
Riverside intends to support ARCOS’ continued growth through investing in product development, adding utility and power plant customers, and expanding sales and marketing efforts.
“Customers trust ARCOS and are deeply loyal to the company because its software ensures fast response times that meet regulatory requirements while complying with complex union rules,” said Riverside Vice President Joe Manning. “ARCOS also has strong growth potential in its new product pipeline, as its new Crew Manager product has received significant interest from utility companies due to its compelling value proposition.”
Working with Mr. Schlachet and Mr. Manning on the transaction for Riverside were Assistant Vice President John McKernan, Associate Ryan Philyaw, Senior Operating Partner Dave Tiley, and Centralized CFO Dan Stankey. Regional Director, Origination Jeremy Holland originated the deal for Riverside.
The Riverside Company is focused on the smaller end of the middle market and invests in businesses valued at up to $250 million (€200 million in Europe). Since 1988, the firm has invested in more than 320 transactions with a total enterprise value of more than $6 billion. The firm’s current portfolio includes more than 70 companies. The Riverside Company is headquartered in New York with additional offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and London (www.riversidecompany.com).
US Bank provided the financing and Jones Day and Deloitte advised Riverside on the investment.
© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 11-7-13