IT

Bregal Sagemount Invests in Vital Insights

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Vital Insights, a provider of enterprise customer experience management (CEM) software, today announced the company has received a $20 million investment from Bregal Sagemount. Gene Yoon, Managing Partner at Bregal Sagemount, will join the company’s board of directors.

Vital Insights is a designer, developer and distributor of daily tracking and Customer Experience Management (CEM) solutions. Its leading brand is Foresight, a platform that distributes, gathers, and manages customer feedback. Foresight has over 125,000 enterprise users across over 4,000 automotive dealerships with major global brands including Mercedes-Benz, Maserati, Jaguar Land Rover, Volkswagen, BMW, Audi, and Infiniti. Vital Insights is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, with offices in Arizona and Germany (www.vitalinsights.com).

“As consumers continue to share more of their experiences through social media and other online channels, we see a clear demand for CEM solutions that empower brands to measure and, more importantly, improve customer satisfaction in real-time,” said Mr. Yoon. “Vital Insights has a proven track record of delivering this capability to brands around the world. We are very pleased to invest in an innovative market leader, and we look forward to pursuing additional growth opportunities in partnership with Jason and the Vital Insights management team.”

Bregal Sagemount makes control and non-control investments of $15 million to $150 million in companies active in the following sectors: business services, software and technology, information and media, financial services, and healthcare. The firm makes both equity and/or junior debt investments and has $500 million in committed capital. Bregal Sagemount is based in New York, NY (www.bregalsagemount.com).

“This investment will allow us to continue on the path towards global expansion and solidify our footing as the market leader of customized CEM solutions for the world’s best brands,” said Jason Tryfon, President & CEO at Vital Insights. “Developing a user-friendly and highly advanced CEM platform for tracking and improving the satisfaction of a company’s customers is instrumental to the future of customer loyalty and retention.”

PEPD 8-8-12

Pamlico Capital Invests in TekLinks

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TekLinks, a provider of managed and hosted IT services, has announced that Pamlico Capital has acquired a majority interest in the company from Symmetric Capital and certain other shareholders. In conjunction with the transaction TekLinks announced that Jim Akerhielm, an executive with over 20 years of experience in the communications and technology services industry, will become CEO of the company.

TekLinks is a provider of managed and hosted IT services to businesses throughout Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and the Gulf South. Company provided services range from desktop support to telecom services to complete cloud-based virtual computing. The company was founded in 2001 by Stuart Raburn and is headquartered in Birmingham, AL (www.teklinks.com).

Mr. Akerhielm was previously CEO of NuVox Communications (a broadband and IT services provider) from 2001 to 2010, when the company was acquired by Windstream for approximately $650 million, and served as the CEO of Triton Cellular (a rural wireless services provider) prior to that.

“TekLinks is a clear IT solutions leader in the Greater Gulf states region with unparalleled technical expertise. I believe TekLinks is ideally poised to benefit from the explosive growth in demand for managed and cloud services. We will look to leverage the company’s leading position and technical capabilities to drive continued regional expansion; at the same time, we will also move to execute targeted acquisitions that will help create one of the foremost managed services businesses in the IT industry,” said Mr. Akerhielm.

Stuart Raburn, TekLinks’ founder and President, will become a member of the Board of Directors, retain an ownership position in TekLinks, and focus on strategic initiatives going forward. “With their successful history investing in the technology services industry, Jim Akerhielm and Pamlico are the ideal partners to lead TekLinks through the next phase of its development, and I am thrilled to be working with them,” said Mr. Raburn.

Pamlico Capital, formerly known as Wachovia Capital Partners, was founded in 1988 and has invested in excess of $3.5 billion in over 200 middle market companies since its inception. Pamlico Capital seeks growth equity and buyout investments of up to $75 million alongside management teams in its target industries, which include business & technology services, communications, and healthcare. The firm currently manages over $2 billion in assets and is based in Charlotte, NC (www.pamlicocapital.com).

“We are excited about the opportunity to partner with Stuart Raburn and the team at TekLinks, and to work again with Jim Akerhielm, whom we have known for over 15 years and backed successfully as CEO of two Pamlico portfolio companies, NuVox Communications and Triton Cellular,” said Pamlico Partner Walker Simmons.

TekLinks and Symmetric Capital were advised by Signal Hill Capital Group (financial advisor) and Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP (legal advisor). Pamlico was advised by Alston & Bird LLP (legal advisor), Ernst & Young (accounting and tax advisor), and Willis Group (insurance and benefits advisor).

TA Associates Invests in Coaxis

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Coaxis, the parent company of Viewpoint Construction Software, a provider of financial/accounting compliance, operational, project and document management software to construction companies, today announced that it has received a $76 million minority investment from TA Associates.

Coaxis, through its Viewpoint subsidiary, provides software for mid-sized and large construction firms, including general contractors, heavy/highway and specialty subcontractors. Coaxis/Viewpoint now counts 1,200 construction firms using their products. The company is based in Portland, OR (www.coaxis.net) (www.viewpointcs.com).

“TA’s investment is a vote of confidence in a talented management team that is transforming the information technology available to the construction market,” said Harry Taylor, a Director at TA Associates who will join Coaxis’ Board of Directors. “We have monitored the company’s progress for some time, and our observations, conversations with Viewpoint customers and market validation indicate that their products, services, values and collaborative company culture all differentiate the firm in this growing market.”

TA Associates makes buyouts and minority recapitalizations of profitable growth companies in the technology, financial services, business services, healthcare and consumer industries. Since founding in 1968 TA has invested in over 400 companies globally and has raised more than $18 billion in capital. The firm has offices in Boston, MA; London, UK; Menlo Park, CA; and Mumbai, India (www.ta.com).

Bluestone Acquires CIS Secure Computing

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Bluestone Investment Partners announced today that it has made an investment in CIS Secure Computing, a provider of secure communications and services to defense and civilian agency customers. “Bluestone’s principals have extensive experience owning, operating and advising companies in the defense technology and government services sectors. This experience truly makes Bluestone a value-added partner,” said Alan Mischler, president of CIS. “We look forward to leveraging the experience of the Bluestone team as we take CIS to the next level.”

CIS Secure Computing is a provider of secure communications and services to defense and civilian agency customers. The company provides its products to a range of US government customers that includes the Department of Defense, Department of State and the intelligence and special operations communities. CIS maintains industry partnerships with large OEMs (Cisco, HP, Polycom, Riverbed, Juniper, Dell and Avaya) and federal systems integrators (General Dynamics, Harris, Lockheed Martin, ManTech, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, CACI, SAIC and Verizon). The company was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Sterling, VA (www.cissecure.com).

“We are pleased to partner with CIS. The company has an outstanding reputation for delivering quality products and solutions. We are eager to bring additional resources to the business so that it can expand its reach and product offerings and accelerate growth,” said Bill Strang, Managing Partner of Bluestone.

Bluestone makes control and non-control investments in companies with revenues from $10 million to $40 million and EBITDAs from $1 million to $5 million. Sectors of interest include defense and government services. The firm is headquartered in McLean, VA (www.bluestonecapitalpartners.com).

The Riverside Company Acquires CityWatch

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Emergency Communications Network (ECN), a portfolio company of The Riverside Company, has acquired CityWatch, a provider of emergency and informational notification services, from Avtex.“This is an exciting acquisition,” said Riverside Partner Chris Jones. “It reinforces ECN’s market leadership in the government notification space, helps the company diversify into the corporate and non-profit sectors, and introduces some innovative product features from CityWatch.”

CityWatch, a division of Avtex, provides emergency and informational notification services via voice, text, and email to corporate, non-profit and government entities. The company is based in Bloomington, MN (www.citywatch.com).

Avtex, a Pohlad Family Company, is a provider of communication services that enable businesses to interact with their customers, employees, partners and prospects through communication and collaboration technologies. The company is based in Bloomington, MN (www.avtex.com ).

“We see strong potential for strengthening and expanding our customer relationships,” said ECN President David DiGiacomo. “CityWatch complements ECN very nicely, and brings a lot to the table in terms of management talent and innovation.”

Emergency Communications Network provides critical, time-sensitive communications to individuals on behalf of over 1,000 government and education clients across all 50 states. The company’s software-as-a-service products – CodeRED, CodeRED Weather Warning and CodeED – allow state and county governments, municipalities, first responders, public utilities, and school districts to deliver millions of messages annually to communicate warnings, information about natural disasters or other information to save lives, find missing children and keep citizens out of harm’s way. The company is based in Ormond Beach, FL (www.ecnetwork.com).

Riverside Operating Partner George Benson will play an active role in the carve-out and integration of CityWatch into ECN.

Working with Mr. Jones and Mr. Benson on this transaction were Vice President Martha Sciaraffo, Vice President Rob Langley, Associate Max Moehlmann and Operating Executive Tom Snyder. Regional Director, Origination Jeremy Holland sourced the deal for Riverside, and continues to pursue add-on opportunities for ECN. The transaction marks the 14th acquisition for Riverside this year.

The Riverside Company is a private equity firm focused on the smaller end of the middle market (“SEMM”). Riverside specializes in investing in SEMM companies (those valued up to $200 million) and partners with management teams to build companies through acquisitions and value-added growth. Since 1988, the firm has invested in 290 transactions with a total enterprise value of more than $6 billion. The firm is headquartered New York with additional offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and London (www.riversidecompany.com).

Kirkland & Ellis advised Riverside on the deal, and Maranon Capital provided financing.

Marlin Equity Partners Acquires Progressive Solutions

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Marlin Equity Partners has acquired Progressive Solutions, a provider of enterprise management software for the building materials supply chain. Progressive Solutions has been integrated with Solarsoft, a Marlin portfolio company. Marlin continues to actively seek additional acquisitions for Solarsoft in complementary markets.

Progressive Solutions is a provider of enterprise management software for producers, manufacturers and distributors in the lumber and building materials supply chain. The company’s products, bisTrack and lumberTrack, provide software solutions to saw mills, lumber yards and suppliers of construction materials throughout North America and the UK. The company is based in Richmond, BC (www.progressive-solutions.com).

Solarsoft provides enterprise software and IT services to manufacturers, distributors and wholesale businesses in North America, Europe and Asia. The company’s products are used for accounting, finance, inventory control, warehouse management, e-commerce, logistics, manufacturing resource planning and management information. The company was founded in 1986 and has 450 employees. Solarsoft is based in Toronto, ON (www.solarsoft.com).

Marlin Equity Partners invests in businesses across multiple industries that are in the process of undergoing varying degrees of operational, financial or market-driven change. The firm is based in is a Los Angeles, CA (www.marlinequity.com).