M&A Deal Summary

Lee Equity Partners Acquires Cadent

On July 1, 2013, private equity firm Lee Equity Partners acquired media company Cadent from Clarion Capital Partners, BIA Digital Partners and Spring Capital Partners

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Lee Equity Partners’ 1st transaction in the Media sector.
  • This is Lee Equity Partners’ 10th transaction in the United States.
  • This is Lee Equity Partners’ 2nd transaction in New York.
Investment Fate
  • Cadent was sold to a consortium of financial buyers in 2023.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 2013-07-01
Target Cadent
Sector Media
Buyer(s) Lee Equity Partners
Sellers(s) Clarion Capital Partners
BIA Digital Partners
Spring Capital Partners
Deal Type Secondary Buyout
Advisor(s) Jefferies (Financial)
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Brownstein (Legal)

Target

Cadent

New York, New York, United States
website
Cadent is a media services company that aggregates local cable television advertising inventory for resale to national advertisers. Cadent was formed in 2007 and is based in New York, New York.

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Buyer(S) 1

Buyer

Lee Equity Partners

New York, New York, United States

website

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 2006
PE ASSETS 4.4B USD
Size Large
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Lee Equity Partners is a private investment firm that looks for buyout and growth capital investments across a range of industries. Lee Equity Partners seeks investments requiring $50 to $150 million of equity capital. Lee Equity Partners was formed in 2006 by Thomas H. Lee, formerly of Thomas H. Lee Partners, LP.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 11 of 36
Sector (Media) 1 of 1
Type (Secondary Buyout) 2 of 12
State (New York) 2 of 5
Country (United States) 10 of 34
Year (2013) 2 of 3
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2013-01-02 Eating Recovery Center

Denver, Colorado, United States

Eating Recovery Center is a behavioral health provider specializing in the treatment of eating disorders. Eating Recovery Center was founded in 2007 and is based in Denver, Colorado.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2013-10-08 Aimbridge Hospitality

Plano, Texas, United States

Aimbridge Hospitality is an independent hotel investment and management firm. Aimbridge Hospitality offers an unrivaled track record of creating and maximizing asset value and holds an enviable position as an exclusive management company approved to operate all brands within the Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Starwood, Wyndham, and InterContinental systems as well as their respective newly launched soft brands. Aimbridge Hospitality was founded in 2003 and is based in Plano, Texas.

Buy -

Seller(S) 3

SELLER

Clarion Capital Partners

New York, New York, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

website

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1999
Size Small
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Clarion Capital Partners is a private equity investment firm that invests in middle-market, growth-oriented companies with and an enterprise value of $50 to $200 million and EBITDA greater than $7.5 million. Target industries include consumer products, business and healthcare services, specialty financial services, specialty retail, and niche media/entertainment. Clarion seeks companies requiring an equity investment of $15 to $75 million in a broad range of investment structures including: growth equity, recapitalizations, and leveraged buyouts. Clarion Capital was formed in 1999 and is based in New York City.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 8 of 16
Sector (Media) 1 of 1
Type (Secondary Buyout) 1 of 4
State (New York) 2 of 4
Country (United States) 8 of 15
Year (2013) 1 of 1
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2012-09-14 Strategic Outsourcing

Charlotte, North Carolina, United States

Strategic Outsourcing is a professional employer organization (PEO), which provides human resources outsourcing to small- and medium-sized businesses. The company specializes in payroll administration, safety and risk management, workers’ compensation, human resource administration, compliance, and benefits administration.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2013-07-15 Cross Accessory Division

United States

Buy -
SELLER

BIA Digital Partners

Chantilly, Virginia, United States

website

Category Mezzanine Finance Firm
Founded 1983
PE ASSETS 283M USD
Size Middle-Market
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

BIA Digital Partners is a private investment firm focused on making junior capital investments in businesses serving the media/entertainment, telecommunications, information services, and business services sectors. The Firm has a special interest in companies generating a significant level of recurring revenue. BIA typically invests in businesses valued from $20 to $100 million and revenues $15 to $100 million. Investment proceeds are generally used to pursue organic growth opportunities, make acquisitions, fund management or leveraged buyouts, recapitlizations, and debt refinancings. BIA is licensed as a SBIC and is based in Chantilly, Virginia.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 16 of 23
Sector (Media) 5 of 5
Type (Secondary Buyout) 4 of 6
State (New York) 2 of 4
Country (United States) 16 of 23
Year (2013) 3 of 3
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2013-03-14 Cooking.com

Santa Monica, California, United States

Cooking.com is an on-line retailer focused on high quality cooking related products including: cookware, tableware, cookbooks, and specialty foods. Cooking.com has over 5,000 products in addition to creative content such as articles from prominent chefs, recipes, and cooking advice.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2014-04-01 The Motley Fool

Alexandria, Virginia, United States

The Motley Fool is the most recognized on-line provider of financial newsletters in the financial services industry. Patriot Capital was approached by the management of The Motley Fool to provide financing to support a shareholder buyback program of its original founding venture capital investor.

Sell -
SELLER

Spring Capital Partners

Lutherville, Maryland, United States

Investor Investor

website

Category Mezzanine Finance Firm
Founded 1999
PE ASSETS 600M USD
Size Middle-Market
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Spring Capital Partners is a mezzanine finance provider for small to medium-sized businesses. Spring invests $2 to $20 million, primarily in the form of subordinated debt with equity features in each transaction. The Firm does not have an industry focus. Spring Capital looks for businesses located in the Mid-Atlantic US with revenues between $10 and $150 million. Spring Capital Partners was formed in 1999 and has offices in Baltimore, Maryland and Radnor, Pennsylvania.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 13 of 25
Sector (Media) 1 of 1
Type (Secondary Buyout) 2 of 5
State (New York) 1 of 1
Country (United States) 13 of 25
Year (2013) 2 of 2
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2013-04-30 BodyMedia

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

BodyMedia, Inc. is a pioneer in developing wearable body monitoring systems that are designed to help people lose weight, improve performance and live a healthier lifestyle.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2014-02-05 V12 Data

Wesley Chapel, Florida, United States

V12 Data is a provider of Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) and Right Time Marketing, delivering market leading data products, real time technologies, and powerful analytics to power the right connections. V12 Data was founded in 1978 and is based in Wesley Chapel, Florida.

Buy -
Mergr

Product

Company

Legal