training

Riverside Acquires The Training Factor

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Grace Hill, a portfolio company of The Riverside Company, has acquired The Training Factor, a provider of regulatory training to the housing industry.

Grace Hill was acquired by Riverside in August 2014 and provides training products to owners, employees and managers working in the apartment industry. Grace Hill allows property managers to train employees with an on-demand service so that they are compliant with rules and regulations on topics such as Fair Housing, OSHA, and sexual harassment.  Grace Hill currently serves more than 460,000 customers worldwide who collectively take more than 1.1 million courses annually.  The company was founded in 1998 and is based in Augusta, GA (www.gracehill.com).

Like Grace Hill, The Training Factor provides professionals in the multi-family industry with training on topics with regulatory implications including Fair Housing, OSHA, and sexual harassment.  The Training Factor acquisition will also bring a new service offering to the Grace Hill platform – mystery shopping – which allows customers to anonymously test whether leasing agents are complying with training programs. The Training Factor is based north of Atlanta in Kennesaw, GA (www.thetrainingfactor.com).

“The addition of The Training Factor to Grace Hill will provide customers of the combined company with the most robust content library in the market,” said Riverside Managing Partner Loren Schlachet. “Demand for these services continues to grow due to nuanced regulations, cost and efficacy advantages of online training relative to in-person alternatives, and a very high cost of non-compliance.”

Working with Mr. Schlachet on the transaction for Riverside were Partner Brian Sauer, Operating Partner Mike Eblin, Vice President John McKernan and Associate Ryan Philyaw. Dave Kralic served as Finance Director, and Vice President Dan Haynes secured financing for the transaction.

Freeport Financial, owned by investment bank Moelis & Company, provided financing for the transaction. Riverside was advised by Jones Day, Deloitte, and West Monroe Partners.

The Riverside Company is a global private equity firm focused on investing in and acquiring growing businesses valued at up to $250 million (€200 million in Europe). Since its founding in 1988, Riverside has invested in more than 360 transactions. The firm’s international portfolio includes more than 75 companies. Riverside is headquartered in New York with additional offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and London (www.riversidecompany.com).

© 2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 12-2-14

MidOcean to Exit GK Holdings to Rhône Capital

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MidOcean Partners has agreed to sell Global Knowledge, a worldwide corporate training company, to Rhône Capital. MidOcean first invested in Global Knowledge in October 2011.

Global Knowledge is the largest worldwide provider of authorized training for technology vendors including Cisco, Microsoft, and VMware. In addition to vendor-authorized content, Global Knowledge develops and delivers proprietary content in IT and Business Skills areas such as networking, business process, and project management.  Global Knowledge educates over 200,000 corporate professionals across 22,000 class sessions each year. The company is headquartered in Cary, NC (www.globalknowledge.com).

“Global Knowledge has been an excellent investment for our firm,” said Ted Virtue, CEO of MidOcean Partners. “We have enjoyed the opportunity to partner with a strong management team and to leverage the company’s leading market position to take advantage of a growing and increasingly important industry.  MidOcean was also able to apply its methodologies and expertise to position the business for sustained growth and success going forward.”

MidOcean Partners invests in middle market companies active in the consumer and business services sectors.  The firm has offices in New York and London (www.midoceanpartners.com).

During MidOcean’s term of ownership, Global Knowledge achieved significant organic revenue and EBITDA growth. The company accelerated its virtual learning offerings, expanded its technology education partnerships including the addition of IBM and Amazon Web Services and broadened its proprietary content suite within technology and business skills.

Rhône Capital is a global private equity firm with more than €3 billion under management and a focus on private equity investments in businesses with a pan-European or transatlantic presence.  Sectors of interest include business services, chemicals, consumer products, food, industrial, materials, mining, and shipping.  The firm was founded in 1996 and has offices in London and New York (www.rhonegroup.com).

Robert W. Baird & Co. advised Global Knowledge on this transaction.

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

Riverside Acquires Corporate Training Technologies

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OnCourse Learning, a portfolio company of The Riverside Company, has acquired Corporate Training Technologies (dba BankersEdge), a provider of bank and credit union training courses.   OnCourse was acquired by Riverside in February 2007 and with the acquisition of BankersEdge has now completed 6 add-on acquisitions.

“BankersEdge has a wide array of courses and specialized programs, and they’ve proven very adaptable in a dynamic regulatory environment,” said Riverside Managing Partner Loren Schlachet. “This addition strengthens the position of OnCourse as an unparalleled provider of a wide variety of professional training and compliance solutions to the financial services market.”

Corporate Training Technologies (dba BankersEdge) provides regulatory, employment, and leadership training as well as compliance solutions for bank and credit union workers. Its courses are used for comprehensive training and regulatory updates by bankers, mortgage professionals and other financial services employees at institutions of all sizes. The company is based in Norristown, PA (www.bankersedge.com).

“BankersEdge has strong technical offerings and a stable of excellent customers,” said Riverside Principal Brian Sauer. “OnCourse has proven very scalable as we’ve added companies in the past, and we’re pleased to continue driving growth.”

OnCourse is a platform company established to build a multi-industry professional training provider. It currently consists of three companies: (i) American Home Inspector Training Institute provides pre-licensing training; (ii) Specialized Solutions is a provider of self-paced e-learning courses for IT professionals preparing for certification exams; and (iii) TrainingPro which provides mortgage education for brokers and loan officers.  The company has offices in Waukesha, WI and Clearwater FL (www.oncourselearning.com).

Working on the acquisition of BankersEdge with Mr. Schlachet and Mr. Sauer from Riverside were Associate Ryan Philyaw, Operating Partner David Logan and Finance Director David Pecore. Origination Partner Robert Landis sourced the deal for Riverside.

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 $250 million) and partners with management teams to build companies through acquisitions and value-added growth. Since 1988, the firm has invested in more than 310 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 financing for the transaction. Jones Day provided legal counsel on the transaction, and Deloitte provided accounting due diligence.

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 9-6-13

American Capital Exits Pan Am Holdings

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American Capital has sold its portfolio company Pan Am Holdings and its subsidiaries, including Pan Am International Flight Academy, to ANA Holdings, parent company of All Nippon Airways Co.

American Capital and its affiliated funds received $94 million in debt and equity proceeds and realized a gain of $12 million from the transaction. Of the total proceeds, American Capital received $79 million, realizing a gain of $7 million from the transaction. American Capital’s compounded annual rate of return earned on its debt and equity securities over the life of its investment was 16%.

American Capital acquired Pan Am International Flight Academy in July 2006. In September 2010, Pan Am completed the add-on acquisition of Aeroservice Aviation Center, a commercial simulation provider based in Miami. Then in December 2012, Pan Am completed a second add-on acquisition with the purchase of Airline Career Academy, a pilot training academy.

Today, Pan Am International Flight Academy is a provider of simulator-based flight training to commercial airlines and professional pilots. The company grew out of the flight simulation and training center of the former Pan Am Airways and offers airlines and individuals training on over 60 full-flight simulators with courses for pilots, cabin crew, mechanics and aircraft dispatchers.  Principal customers are commercial passenger airlines and air freight carriers, which are primarily regional carriers in North and South America, and air traffic control authorities worldwide. The company has training facilities in Miami, Orlando, Memphis, Minneapolis, Las Vegas, and Cincinnati. Pan Am International Flight Academy was founded in 1992 and is based in Miami (www.panamacademy.com).

“We are extremely pleased with the results of our sale of Pan Am and excited for the company to join ANA, a leading aviation group with global operations,” said Myung Yi, Managing Director, Special Situations Group. “Our investment in Pan Am is an excellent example of our Special Situations Group’s commitment to growing portfolio companies through leveraging American Capital’s diverse industry knowledge, including aerospace, and working closely with management teams to expand companies’ operations, market reach and service offerings.”

American Capital is a publicly traded private equity firm and asset manager that originates, underwrites and manages investments of $10 million to $750 million in middle market private equity, leveraged finance, real estate and structured products. Founded in 1986, American Capital has $119 billion in total assets under management and has eight offices in the US, Europe and Asia. The firm is headquartered in Bethesda (www.AmericanCapital.com).

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 8-26-13