information services

Simplify Compliance Starts Info Roll-up

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Leeds Equity Partners has formed and invested in Simplify Compliance Holdings, a buy-and-build platform with an exclusive focus on the governance, risk and compliance market. Simplify Compliance represents the first investment for Leeds Equity Partners VI.

Simultaneous with formation of Simplify Compliance, the company has the following four companies: (1) Fortis Business Media – a provider of services to assist companies in complying with state and federal legal requirements across a variety of areas such as human resources, occupational health and safety, and environmental. Fortis was formed through the February 2011 merger of Business & Legal Resources (BLR) and M. Lee Smith Publishers (www.blr.com) (www.hcpro.com); (2) DecisionHealth, a provider of information and services to healthcare businesses. DecisionHealth publishes Part B News, Home Health Line and numerous specialty coding newsletters, known throughout the industry as “Pink Sheets” (www.decisionhealth.com); (3) Argosy Group, a provider of specialized financial and business information services (Argosy Group web page); and  (4) Center for Communications Management Information (CCMI), a provider of data and information to the telecom industry (www.ccmi.com). DecisionHealth, Argosy Group, and CCMI were acquired from UCG, a business-to-business publishing company headquartered in Gaithersburg, MD (www.ucg.com):

Simplify Compliance is led by Dan Oswald, the current CEO of BLR, and is headquartered in the Nashville suburb of Brentwood, TN. “Leeds Equity’s track record of providing support to leading businesses in the knowledge industries is unmatched, and we view our partnership with Leeds as a strategic asset of the company,” said Mr. Oswald. “We chose to work with Leeds because of the depth of their experience and expertise, and we are confident that their resources will enable Simplify Compliance to continue its successful expansion through new growth initiatives.”

Leeds Equity Partners is focused exclusively on investing in the education, training and information services industries.  The firm was founded by Jeffrey Leeds and Robert Bernstein in 1993 and has raised and managed more than $1.5 billion of capital across six funds.  The firm is located in New York (www.leedsequity.com).

“Dan and his team, through this combination, have created a special business,” said Scott VanHoy, Managing Director of Leeds Equity Partners. “The company operates a differentiated, scalable platform that enables its customers and clients to operate effectively in the complex and fast-changing environments in which they participate.   We are excited to help the company continue to grow organically and through acquisitions.”

BLR and UCG were advised by New York-based media investment bank JEGI (www.jegi.com).

© 2016 Private Equity Professional | December 21, 2016

MidOcean and Wasserstein Sell Penton

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MidOcean Partners and Wasserstein & Co. have entered into an agreement to sell Penton, a professional information services company, to Informa for $1.56 billion. The consideration will consist of $1.46 billion in cash and $100 million of Informa stock. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2016. Penton has an annual run rate EBITDA of $140 million which equates to an 11x purchase price multiple.

In October 2005, Wasserstein & Co. acquired the Business Information segment of PRIMEDIA for $385 million in cash and renamed the company Prism Business Media. In February 2007, Prism acquired business-to-business trade magazine publisher Penton Media for $530 million. At this time, MidOcean acquired a 50% interest in the combined Prism/Penton which was renamed Penton Media. Later, the Media portion of the name was dropped and the company became known as just Penton.

Under MidOcean and Wasserstein ownership, Penton was transformed from predominantly a print business into a professional information services company. Penton completed 13 acquisitions, creating scaled positions in growth-oriented sectors—including agriculture, transportation, natural products/food, infrastructure, and industrial design/manufacturing sectors. Today, Penton has seven of the top 250 largest trade shows in the US, which have helped drive an event revenue CAGR of over 20% over the last four years. Additional investments have been made to create an industry leading team that has built a state of the art digital platform, launched numerous SaaS products and built a scaled and fast-growing digital content marketing services business. Penton is headquartered in New York (www.penton.com).

“We are incredibly proud of our partnership with Penton and the company’s success under CEO David Kieselstein,” said Barrett Gilmer, Managing Director of MidOcean and Co-Chairman of Penton. “This investment exemplifies the value we bring to our portfolio companies by working closely with management teams to identify attractive areas for expansion, enhance operations and drive growth. In this case, under David’s leadership, and in particular over the last four years, Penton achieved a dramatic shift in its business mix, completed a number of highly strategic acquisitions and nearly doubled EBITDA from $77 million to $140 million.”

MidOcean invests in middle market companies active in the business and media services, consumer, and industrial services sectors.  Through MidOcean Credit Partners, which launched in 2009, the firm manages approximately $4 billion across a series of alternative credit strategies, collateralized loan obligations, and separately managed accounts. The firm was founded in 2003 and has offices in New York and London (www.midoceanpartners.com).

Wasserstein & Co. is focused primarily on leveraged buyout investments and related investment activities in the media, consumer products and water equipment and services industries.  The firm has offices in New York and Los Angeles (www.wasserco.com).

“MidOcean and Wasserstein are seasoned, hands-on investors and have been invaluable partners in supporting Penton and allowing us to execute on our strategy,” said David Kieselstein, CEO of Penton. “Their strategic insight, resources, flexibility and experience in the media services sector have been essential to our transformation by enabling our organic growth through new investment initiatives and sourcing and coordinating multiple accretive acquisitions.”

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 9-16-16

Kamylon Capital Exits Innovadex

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Kamylon Capital has sold its portfolio company Innovadex, a B2B business information services company, to Underwriters Laboratories.

Innovadex is a search engine used in the life science, chemical and food and beverage industries, offering information exchange services that connect product innovators at end-product manufacturers with technical documents, sales and support personnel at suppliers that fuel innovation with materials, equipment and services.  Innovadex members represent over 60,000 industrial and consumer product companies operating in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific.  The company was founded in 1999 and is based in Overland Park, KS (www.innovadex.com).

“We were fortunate to have Kamylon as our business partner,” said Bruce Ianni, CEO and founder of Innovadex. “In particular, the Kamylon team imbued the needed discipline, metrics, and strategy to help Innovadex grow and achieve a successful exit.”

Kamylon invested in Innovadex in 2007.  During the investment period the company entered three new markets, created a mobile sales support application, and introduced an “electronic tradeshow” service that enables trade show participants to catalog and distribute marketing and technical documents electronically within Innovadex’ search platform.

“We are grateful to Bruce Ianni, Jim Dodd and the rest of the Innovadex management team for what they were able to accomplish,” said Charles Lelon, Managing Partner of Kamylon Capital. “We have enjoyed an outstanding partnership with the company, Bruce and Jim specifically, and are pleased they found a great partner in Underwriters Laboratories for the next stage of the company’s evolution.”

Kamylon Capital makes control equity investments in lower middle market businesses. The firm is based in Wellesley Hills, MA (www.kamylon.com).

Underwriters Laboratories is a safety science company with more than 10,000 professionals in over 100 countries. The company has five business units — Product Safety, Environment, Life & Health, Knowledge Services, and Verification Services.  Underwriters Laboratories is based in Northbrook, IL (www.UL.com).

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 1-24-13

Tregaron Capital Exits Economic Modeling

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Tregaron Capital has sold its portfolio company, Economic Modeling (EMSI), a provider of employment data and economic analysis to Career Builder. Tregaron Opportunity Fund I, which acquired EMSI in February 2010, realized a 6.8x return on the fund’s investment in the company.

EMSI is a provider of employment data and economic analysis via web tools and custom reports, producing impact analysis for colleges and universities throughout the US and internationally. The company has 40 employees and is based in Moscow, ID (www.EconomicModeling.com).

Tregaron Capital was formed in 2001 to invest in small and medium-size companies with EBITDA between $1 million and $5 million that are based in the western United States. The firm makes both mezzanine debt and equity investments, typically in amounts from $2 million to $5 million. Tregaron Capital is based in Palo Alto, CA (www.tregaroncapital.com).

To date, Tregaron Opportunity Fund I, which was established in 2010 with $65 million in capital under management, has achieved over a 40% per year compounded net annual return on capital, including five debt and/or equity investments.

© 2012 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 9-20-12