M&A Deal Summary

Atairos and Silver Lake Acquire Learfield Communications

On October 8, 2016, growth capital firm Atairos and private equity firm Silver Lake acquired media company Learfield Communications from Providence Equity Partners

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Atairos’ 1st and Silver Lake’s 2nd transaction in the Media sector.
  • This is Atairos’ 4th and Silver Lake’s 62nd transaction in the United States.
  • This is Atairos’ 1st and Silver Lake’s 9th transaction in Texas.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 2016-10-08
Target Learfield Communications
Sector Media
Buyer(s) Atairos
Silver Lake
Sellers(s) Providence Equity Partners
Deal Type Secondary Buyout

Target

Learfield Communications

Plano, Texas, United States
Learfield Communications is a provider of integrated marketing solutions in college sport. Learfield has a deep presence in the college athletics landscape nationwide. It manages the multimedia and sponsorship rights for more than 120 collegiate institutions, conferences and arenas, and supports athletic departments at all competitive levels as title sponsor of the prestigious Learfield Directors’ Cup. Learfield Communications was founded in 1972 and is based in Plano, Texas.

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Buyer(S) 2

Buyer

Atairos

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Growth Capital Firm
Founded 2016
PE ASSETS 6.0B USD
Size Large
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Atairos is a generalist private equity firm focused on partnering with growth-oriented businesses. Atairos does not have any sector preferences and will consider opportunities across the US. Atairos was formed in 2016 and has offices in New York City and Philadelphia.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 4 of 13
Sector (Media) 1 of 5
Type (Secondary Buyout) 1 of 3
State (Texas) 1 of 2
Country (United States) 4 of 9
Year (2016) 3 of 4
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2016-05-18 The Orogen Group

New York, New York, United States

The Orogen Group is an operating company created by Vikram S. Pandit and Atairos Group to make significant long-term strategic investments in financial services companies and related businesses with proven business models. The Orogen Group was formed in 2016 and is based in New York City.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2016-12-22 TriNet Group

Dublin, California, United States

TriNet Group is a provider of a comprehensive human resources solution for small to midsize businesses. TriNet Group was founded in 1988 and is based in Dublin, California.

Buy -
Buyer

Silver Lake

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1999
PE ASSETS 104.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Silver Lake is a mega-sized private equity firm focused on a broad range of growth investments in and acquisitions of technology companies. Silver Lake is subdivided into several investing groups including Silver Lake Partners, Silver Lake Sumeru, Silver Lake Waterman, Silver Lake Alpine, and Silver Lake Kraftwerk. Silver Lake Partners pursues large-scale private investments in companies within the technology, tech-enabled and related growth industries. Silver Lake Sumeru invests in middle market technology companies with established business models and attractive growth prospects where there is an opportunity to create value through operational transformation. Silver Lake Waterman provides growth capital to later-stage companies in the technology and technology-enabled industries, offering flexible solutions to finance expansion and acquisitions. Silver Lake Alpine is Silver Lake's debt and credit investing arm. Silver Lake Kraftwerk provides growth capital to technology and tech-enabled businesses driving efficiency across the operations, energy, and resources industries. Silver Lake Partners was formed in 1999 is headquartered in Menlo Park, California.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 82 of 134
Sector (Media) 2 of 5
Type (Secondary Buyout) 12 of 19
State (Texas) 9 of 11
Country (United States) 62 of 94
Year (2016) 5 of 5
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2016-08-01 SolarCity

San Mateo, California, United States

SolarCity is a provider of clean energy solutions. The Company delivers renewable electricity directly to homeowners, businesses and government organizations for less than they spend on utility bills. SolarCity gives customers control of their energy costs to protect them from rising rates. The company makes solar energy easy by taking care of everything from design and permitting to monitoring and maintenance. SolarCity was formed in 2006 and is based in San Mateo, California.

Sell $2.6B
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2016-10-28 BlackLine

Woodland Hills, California, United States

BlackLine offers a cloud-based software platform designed to transform and modernize accounting and finance operations for organizations of all types and sizes. BlackLine's secure, scalable platform supports critical accounting processes such as the financial close, account reconciliation, intercompany accounting and controls assurance. By introducing software to automate these processes and to enable them to function continuously, BlackLine empowers its customers to improve the integrity of their financial reporting, achieve efficiencies and enhance real-time visibility into their operations. BlackLine was founded in 2001 and is based in Woodland Hills, California.

Sell -

Seller(S) 1

SELLER

Providence Equity Partners

Providence, Rhode Island, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1989
PE ASSETS 36.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Providence Equity Partners is a specialist private equity firm that targets investments in media, entertainment, communications, and information companies. Specifically, Providence seeks investments in wireless and wireline telephony, cable television content and distribution, music, film, publishing, radio and television broadcasting, and other media and communications sectors. Providence Equity looks to commit $150 million to $800 million of equity capital in transactions ranging from growth financings and recapitalizations, to buyouts and take-privates. Providence Equity Partners was formed in 1989 and has offices in Providence, Rhode Island; New York, New York; Los Angeles, California; London, United Kingdom; Hong Kong, China; and New Delhi, India.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 59 of 100
Sector (Media) 16 of 23
Type (Secondary Buyout) 12 of 31
State (Texas) 2 of 4
Country (United States) 39 of 68
Year (2016) 5 of 6
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2016-09-12 Untangle

San Jose, California, United States

Untangle is a provider in cybersecurity designed specifically for the below-enterprise market, safeguarding businesses, home offices, nonprofits, schools and governmental organizations. Untangle’s integrated suite of software and appliances provides enterprise-grade capabilities and consumer-oriented simplicity to organizations with limited IT resources. Untangle’s award-winning network security solutions are trusted by over 40,000 customers around the world. Untangle was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2016-10-24 Propertybase

Boulder, Colorado, United States

Propertybase is a provider of software, online marketing and design services to real estate companies looking to be the technology leaders in their marketplace. Propertybase platform combines CRM, websites, content management, marketing automation and data management into one easy platform for real estate companies to manage their leads and digital marketing with ease. Propertybase was formed in 2004 in Boston, Colorado.

Buy -
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