market research

Ridgemont Equity Partners has made an investment in Service Management Group, a provider of a consumer and brand data.

Service Management Group (SMG) is a market research company that provides data on customer experience, employee engagement and brand research to more than 450 brands in the restaurant, retail, grocery, convenience, travel and entertainment, professional services and healthcare industries. The company collects consumer information through more than 200 million surveys annually across a range of collection points including on-location, on-line, and through contact centers. SMG was founded in 1991 by Andy Fromm and Bill Fromm and is headquartered in Kansas City (www.smg.com).

“SMG is the clear market leader in measuring and analyzing customer experience and employee engagement in restaurant and retail settings, which is mission-critical data for the company’s customers,” said Kurt Leedy, a Principal at Ridgemont. “The company does an outstanding job serving its clients and has ample white space for future growth. We are excited to have SMG join the Ridgemont portfolio and look forward to partnering with SMG leadership to continue their growth and success.”

Ridgemont focuses on middle market buyout and growth equity investments of $25 million to $100 million. The firm invests in the following sectors: basic industries and services, energy, healthcare, and technology and telecommunications. The firm is headquartered in Charlotte with an additional office in Dallas (www.ridgemontep.com).

“Our partnership with Ridgemont marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for SMG,” said Andy Fromm, CEO of SMG. “Ridgemont brings more than twenty years of investment experience and shares our vision for helping brands create experiences that improve people’s lives. Together we will take on new growth initiatives while remaining committed to offering the best software platform and most actionable insights to our clients.”

William Blair (www.williamblair.com) was the financial advisor to SMG

© 2017 Private Equity Professional | October 24, 2017

Kohlberg & Company has agreed to acquire the ownership interest of RLJ Equity Partners and State Street Global Advisors in MarketCast, a provider of information and data analytics to marketers and researchers in the entertainment industry. RLJ and State Street acquired MarketCast in December 2014 from Shamrock Capital Advisors.

MarketCast works with marketers and researchers at major motion picture studio and production companies to develop and execute marketing strategies.  The company’s services are available worldwide and include materials testing (trailers, TV spots, print ads, etc.), concept and positioning studies, exit polls, recruited audience screenings, tracking studies, and focus groups. Other services include brand and franchise studies, title tests, post-release studies, and attitudes and usage studies.

In August 2015, under RLJ and State Street ownership, MarketCast completed the acquisition of Insight Strategy Group, a New York-based research and strategy agency with practices in lifestyle, consumer goods, retail, and services businesses (www.insightstrategygroup.com).

MarketCast was founded in Boston in the late 1980s by three sociology professors – Joseph Helfgot, Frank Romo, and Michael Schwartz.  Today, the company is headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in New York, Boston and London (www.mcast.com).

Kohlberg & Company invests in companies in the industrial manufacturing; consumer products; business services; healthcare services; and financial services sectors. The firm concentrates on companies with EBITDAs between $20 million and $100 million where it can invest between $50 million and $200 million of equity. Kohlberg & Company was founded in 1987 and is based north of New York City in Mt. Kisco, NY (www.kohlberg.com).

“The MarketCast management team is highly enthusiastic about this new chapter for the company,” said Henry Shapiro, CEO of MarketCast. “Kohlberg has a 30-year track record of investing in service-based businesses with a focus toward long-term growth. The firm represents a strongly capitalized partner that will enable MarketCast to invest in new products and services, and expand into new and emerging forms of entertainment content, distribution, and marketing.”

“Through its suite of innovative, data-driven products and services, scalable, worldwide infrastructure, and dedication to exceeding customer expectations, MarketCast is positioned to serve the growing demands of the global entertainment marketplace,” said Ahmed Wahla, a Kohlberg Partner. “We see tremendous growth opportunities for MarketCast, both organically and through acquisitions, and look forward to partnering with management in the next phase of the company’s development.”

RLJ Equity Partners invests from $15 million to $30 million in companies valued between $50 million and $250 million. Target companies will have operating profits greater than $7 million and operating margins greater than 10%.  Sectors of interest include aerospace & defense; auto & transportation; business services; consumer retail; general industrial; and media & telecom.  RLJ Equity Partners was founded in 2006 by Robert Johnson in partnership with The Carlyle Group. The firm is headquartered in Bethesda, MD (www.rljequitypartners.com).

The buy of MarketCast by Kohlberg is expected to close by the end of November. “We feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with the MarketCast team, and assist the company through a period of rapid expansion and success. We are confident that the company will continue its growth trajectory in partnership with Kohlberg,” said Jerry Johnson, a Managing Director at RLJ.

Ropes & Gray (www.ropesgray.com) represented Kohlberg & Company on this transaction with a team led by private equity partner Christopher Rile that included finance partner Steven Rutkovsky, benefits partner Loretta Richard, tax partner Eric Elfman, intellectual property transactions partner David McIntosh, and business & securities litigation partner Peter Welsh.

Lazard Middle Market (www.lazard.com) was the financial advisor to MarketCast.

© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 10-26-16

Tailwind Capital has acquired Lieberman Research Worldwide, a market research and data analytics company.

Lieberman Research Worldwide (LRW) is considered to be one of the 25 largest marketing research firms in the world. The company provides data-driven consulting services on issues such as strategy, branding, communications, new product development, and customer experience. LRW’s clients are active in a range of industries including pharmaceutical, technology, consumer packaged goods, healthcare, retail, food service, financial and business services, and automotive. The company was founded in 1973 and has more than 400 employees. LRW is headquartered in Los Angeles with additional offices in Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, and London (www.lrwonline.com).

LRW’s Chairman and CEO Dave Sackman and President, Jeff Reynolds will continue in their roles and remain significant owners of the business.  “The market research industry is at an inflection point, and we see tremendous opportunity. Our partnership with Tailwind will enable us to innovate even more rapidly than we have the past few years and to meet the changing needs of chief marketing officers and their organizations,” said Mr. Sackman.

“This transaction represents a tremendous opportunity for Tailwind to invest in a proven winner that provides high quality services to a dynamic industry in the midst of a transformation,” said Adam Stulberger, a Partner at Tailwind.  “LRW has an experienced management team and is well-positioned for future growth and expansion through both organic initiatives and acquisitions.”

Tailwind makes investments of $25 million to $100 million in lower middle market companies with enterprise values of up to $300 million that are active in the healthcare, business and communications services sectors. Since its founding in 2003, Tailwind has invested over $1 billion in 27 portfolio companies and has completed over 65 add-on acquisitions.  The firm has 27 investment professionals and senior operating executives and is based in New York (www.tailwind.com).

Earlier this month, Tailwind held a final closing of Tailwind Capital Partners II, LP with $1.05 billion of committed capital. This exceeded the fund’s $750 million target.  Tailwind’s first fund was raised in 2009 with $775 million of capital.

Intrepid Investment Bankers (www.intrepidib.com) was the exclusive financial advisor to Lieberman Research Worldwide.  “Intrepid’s team executed a robust process, generating widespread interest. We’re excited about future opportunities with our new partners,” said Mr. Sackman.

© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 7-10-15

Halyard Capital has acquired Harte Hanks Market Intelligence and The Aberdeen Group from Harte Hanks, Inc. The two acquired businesses will be branded together as The Aberdeen Group.

Harte Hanks Market Intelligence gathers, measures, and assesses data that is used by companies active in the technology industry to improve marketing and sales (www.hartehanks.com).  The Aberdeen Group provides research and content marketing services that are used by business professionals to improve marketing related decision-making and business strategy (www.aberdeen.com). The combined company will have operations in Boston, San Diego, London, Paris and Madrid (www.aberdeenservices.com).

Dr. Charles Stryker, Chairman of VDC (www.venturedc.com), an advisory firm to the information services industry, will invest alongside Halyard and will serve on the board of directors of the new company. Gary Skidmore, the former President of Harte Hanks, will also invest alongside Halyard and will become Chief Executive Officer of the company.

“We’re confident that with our added support and investment, the combined entity will drive significant additional value for both current and future customers,” said Jonathan Barnes, Partner of Halyard Capital.  “We are pleased to be partnering with a seasoned leader in Gary Skidmore and with Charlie Stryker, a talented executive with whom we have partnered successfully in the past. We look forward to building upon the impressive accomplishments of these two organizations and to accelerating their growth together.”

Halyard specializes in middle-market leveraged buyouts and growth equity investments in technology-enabled information, data analytics, communications and business services companies that cater to the healthcare, education, marketing services, human capital management and media sectors.  The firm has over $600 million of capital under management and is based in New York (www.halyard.com).

“I am thrilled to be teaming up with Halyard Capital and Charlie Stryker for this exciting opportunity. Both Market Intelligence and Aberdeen are uniquely positioned, creating a fantastic opportunity to transform the vibrant technology data and content marketing space with a combined offering,” said Mr. Skidmore.  “Our platform will provide marketing and sales professionals with proprietary intelligence on who their ideal audiences are, what they are interested in now, and how to connect with them. And our integrated content marketing capability will allow companies to maximize this audience intelligence with improved content and storytelling tools.”

© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-14-15

Court Square Capital Partners has completed its acquisition of Research Now Group, a provider of digital data collection services.

Research Now Group uses online panels – as well as mobile, digital and social media technologies – to assemble data that is used by its clients to drive business decisions and processes such as: strategy, competitive intelligence, new product development, brand positioning and digital ad effectiveness.  Research Now operates in 38 countries and has 24 offices across the globe. The company is headquartered near Dallas in Plano, TX (www.researchnow.com).

“Court Square’s history of investing in winning companies makes them an ideal partner to help us achieve our bold vision,” said Kurt Knapton, President and CEO of Research Now. “With our 15-year track record of industry-leading growth, we have established ourselves as the global standard for quality data collection and client satisfaction. We look forward to building on that momentum with new products and technology offerings that address market opportunities.”

Court Square Capital Partners was established as an independent private equity firm by the former members of Citigroup Venture Capital Equity Partners. Court Square is focused primarily on leveraged buyout transactions in the middle market. Sectors of interest include business services, general industrial, healthcare, and technology/telecommunications. Court Square currently manages approximately $5.5 billion of capital and is based in New York (www.courtsquare.com). 

© 2015 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 3-19-15

RLJ Equity Partners has acquired MarketCast, a provider of marketing research services for the entertainment industry and a portfolio company of Shamrock Capital Advisors since June 2012.  Brookside Mezzanine Partners participated with RLJ through a subordinated debt and an equity co-investment.

MarketCast works with marketers and researchers at major motion picture studio and production companies to develop and execute marketing strategies.  MarketCast services are available worldwide and include materials testing (trailers, TV spots, print ads, etc.), concept and positioning studies, exit polls, recruited audience screenings, tracking studies, and focus groups. Other services include brand and franchise studies, title tests, post-release studies, and attitudes and usage studies. MarketCast was founded in Boston in the late 1980s by three sociology professors – Joseph Helfgot, Frank Romo, and Michael Schwartz.  Today, the company is headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in New York, Boston and London (www.mcast.com).

RLJ Equity Partners invests from $15 million to $30 million in companies valued between $50 million and $250 million. Target companies will have operating profits greater than $7 million and operating margins greater than 10%.  Sectors of interest include aerospace & defense; auto & transportation; business services; consumer retail; general industrial; and media & telecom.  RLJ Equity Partners was founded in 2006 by Robert L. Johnson in partnership with The Carlyle Group. The firm is headquartered in Bethesda, MD (www.rljequitypartners.com).

Brookside Mezzanine Partners is a provider of subordinated debt and minority equity capital to small and mid-sized companies throughout the United States. The firm invests in both sponsored and non-sponsored transactions and provides junior capital and unitranche financing to support buyouts, leveraged recapitalizations, strategic acquisitions, dividends and growth capital.  Brookside will invest up to $20 million per transaction, with the resources to complete larger transactions as well.  Brookside was founded in 2001 and has offices in Stamford, CT and Boston, MA (www.brooksidemp.com).

2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 12-16-14

HGGC has signed an agreement to make a majority investment in Survey Sampling International, a provider of data and technology for consumer and business-to-business research.  The HGGC investment will be done in partnership with Providence Equity Partners and Sterling Investment Partners, who have jointly owned the company since 2011 and are retaining minority stakes in the business.

Survey Sampling International (SSI) gathers business data by conducting more than 31 million surveys annually through its online, mobile and offline capabilities. The company has more than 3,000 customers including some of the largest organizations in the world, ranging from leading market research and consulting firms to Fortune 500 businesses and universities. SSI, founded in 1977, has 25 offices in 18 countries and is headquartered in Shelton, CT (www.surveysampling.com).

“We are excited to partner with the management team, Providence, and Sterling on this investment in SSI, which pioneered sampling, data collection and data analytics, and has been an industry innovator and leader since its inception,” said Rich Lawson, CEO and Managing Partner of HGGC. “CEO Chris Fanning and the SSI management team have positioned the company to increase its global market share as the demand for actionable market insights continues to expand, and we will work closely with them to build on that success.”

HGGC (formerly Huntsman Gay Global Capital) makes leveraged buyout, recapitalizations and growth equity investments in middle market companies. The firm invests from $25 million to $100 million in equity per transaction in companies that have revenues of $100 million or more, enterprise values of $100 million to $500 million, and EBITDA of $15 million or more.  HGGC is based in Palo Alto (www.hggc.com).

“We are very pleased to open this new chapter for SSI and accelerate our growth strategy that has been so successful the past several years,” said Mr. Fanning.  “HGGC’s deep knowledge of technology-enabled businesses and their collaborative approach to management will be invaluable in supporting SSI as we look to extend our industry leadership, enhance our product and technology offering, expand our global footprint, and capture a substantial and growing market opportunity.”

On completion of the investment, Mr. Lawson will become Chairman of the Board of SSI, and will be joined on the Board by HGGC Managing Partner Steve Young.  Providence and Sterling will each continue to be represented on the Board of SSI.

2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 11-10-14