M&A Deal Summary

CHS Capital, Audax Private Debt and New Harbor Capital Acquire EAB

On December 6, 2011, private equity firm CHS Capital, mezzanine finance firm Audax Private Debt and private equity firm New Harbor Capital acquired education company EAB from Chicago Growth Partners

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is CHS Capital’s 1st, Audax Private Debt’s 2nd and New Harbor Capital’s 1st transaction in the Education sector.
  • This is CHS Capital’s 40th, Audax Private Debt’s 40th and New Harbor Capital’s 3rd transaction in the United States.
  • This is CHS Capital’s 1st, Audax Private Debt’s 1st and New Harbor Capital’s 1st transaction in District of Columbia.
Investment Fate
  • EAB was sold to a publicly-traded strategic buyer in 2015.
  • EAB was divested to a consortium of buyers in 2017 for 1.6B USD.

M&A Deal Summary

Date 2011-12-06
Target EAB
Sector Education
Buyer(s) CHS Capital
Audax Private Debt
New Harbor Capital
Sellers(s) Chicago Growth Partners
Deal Type Secondary Buyout

Target

EAB

Washington, District of Columbia, United States
EAB is a provider of best practices research, student success management software and data-enabled enrollment solutions to the not-for-profit higher education and K-12 markets. The Company’s solutions help institutions increase enrollment yield, balance financial aid with revenue generation, drive higher student retention and success, and implement industry best practices derived from benchmarking and research. EAB was founded in 1983 and is based in Washington, Washington DC.

Search 215,130 Deals Now

SEARCH BY

  • Buyer Type (PE or Strategic)
  • Deal Size ($10M to $10B+)
  • Sector (60 Sectors)
  • Deal Type
  • Geography
  • & More

Try Free

Buyer(S) 3

Buyer

CHS Capital

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1988
PE ASSETS 2.9B USD
Size Large
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

CHS Capital is a large private equity firm that targets US-based company investments in a variety of sectors. CHS will consider both control and non-control positions in businesses with proven management and strong growth potential. Broad sectors of interest include business services, consumer services, consumer products, distribution, industrial products and infrastructure. The Firm looks for businesses valued from $75 to $300 million. CHS will not invest in venture opportunities or turnaround situations. CHS was formed in 1988 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 40 of 42
Sector: Education M&A 1 of 1
Type: Secondary Buyout M&A Deals 13 of 14
State: District of Columbia M&A 1 of 1
Country: United States M&A 40 of 42
Year: 2011 M&A 2 of 2
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2011-11-09 TruckPro

Cordova, Tennessee, United States

TruckPro is an independent distributor of heavy-duty aftermarket truck parts and accessories in the U.S. TruckPro distributes a full range of products that cover maintenance and repair events for substantially all major OEMs of heavy-duty vehicles. TruckPro sells its products to over 35,000 customers in numerous end markets, including small, regional and national trucking companies; private fleets; waste services companies; construction companies; municipalities and independent repair shops. TruckPro was founded in 1958 and is based in Memphis, Tennessee.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2011-12-08 American Laser Skincare

Farmington Hills, Michigan, United States

American Laser Skincare is a provider of hair removal and skin rejuvenation services. American Laser Skincare was founded in 2002 and is based in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

Sell -
Buyer

Audax Private Debt

New York, New York, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor


Category Mezzanine Finance Firm
Founded 2000
PE ASSETS 5.4B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Audax Mezzanine is the mezzanine finance arm of the Audax Group. The Firm focuses on investing in both private and public, US-based middle market companies with a strong history of cash flows and consistent revenue growth. Audax will consider subordinated mezzanine debt commitments, second lien or junior secured debt, preferred stock and common stock. The Firm seeks to invest in companies with EBITDA between $10 and $100 million. Types of transaction include MBOs, LBOs, growth capital financings, acquisition financings, and recapitalizations. Audax Private Debt is based in New York, New York.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 41 of 120
Sector: Education M&A 2 of 2
Type: Secondary Buyout M&A Deals 17 of 58
State: District of Columbia M&A 1 of 1
Country: United States M&A 40 of 118
Year: 2011 M&A 4 of 4
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2011-11-09 TruckPro

Cordova, Tennessee, United States

TruckPro is an independent distributor of heavy-duty aftermarket truck parts and accessories in the U.S. TruckPro distributes a full range of products that cover maintenance and repair events for substantially all major OEMs of heavy-duty vehicles. TruckPro sells its products to over 35,000 customers in numerous end markets, including small, regional and national trucking companies; private fleets; waste services companies; construction companies; municipalities and independent repair shops. TruckPro was founded in 1958 and is based in Memphis, Tennessee.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2012-03-01 UAF

Sauget, Illinois, United States

UAF designs and manufactures custom air filters and EMI shielding products used to protect commercial equipment and electronics enclosures. With exceptional design and application knowledge necessary to satisfy electronics cooling requirements of increasingly powerful and complex equipment. UAF was founded in 1959 and is based in Sauget, Illinois.

Sell -
Buyer
DESCRIPTION

New Harbor Capital is a lower middle-market private equity firm focused on investing in and acquiring profitable, growth-oriented companies. New Harbor seeks opportunities in the healthcare services, education, and business services sectors and looks to invest $10 to $40 million per transaction. The Firm prefers control investment situations and typically looks to fund growth capital financings, management buyouts, and recapitalizations. New Harbor Capital was established in 2013 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 3 of 22
Sector: Education M&A 1 of 4
Type: Secondary Buyout M&A Deals 1 of 2
State: District of Columbia M&A 1 of 1
Country: United States M&A 3 of 22
Year: 2011 M&A 1 of 1
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2008-08-01 WASH

Torrance, California, United States

WASH is a provider of route-based laundry services to multifamily apartments and universities. The Company operates an infrastructure network across 34 branches, with approximately 635,000 installed machines and 82,000 customer locations. WASH was founded in 1947 and is based in Torrance, California.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2013-12-06 PT Solutions

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

PT Solutions is a provider of physical therapy services through stand-alone, outpatient physical therapy clinics, hospitals, physician groups, and other partners. PT Solutions was founded in 2003 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Buy -

Seller(S) 1

SELLER

Chicago Growth Partners

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Category Growth Capital Firm
Founded 2004
PE ASSETS 1.2B USD
Size Large
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Chicago Growth Partners LLC (CGP) was a Chicago-based based private equity firm that provided expansion and buyout capital to middle-market companies generating sales of $15 to $150 million. CGP sought to invest in business services, consumer services, healthcare products/services, and industrial companies. CGP was formed in 2004 as a spin-off of William Blair Capital Partners, the investment group of investment bank William Blair. In 2014, the Firm ceased operations.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 19 of 34
Sector: Education M&A 2 of 4
Type: Secondary Buyout M&A Deals 5 of 8
State: District of Columbia M&A 1 of 1
Country: United States M&A 17 of 31
Year: 2011 M&A 2 of 2
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2011-05-10 FineLine Technologies

Norcross, Georgia, United States

FineLine Technologies provides customizable branded, barcoded, and RFID integrated labels, tags and badges for supply chain, omnichannel fulfillment, POS, access control, and consumer engagement needs. FineLine produces billions of tickets annually, processing data quickly and securely, printing high-quality graphics and scannable barcodes, encoding UHF and HF RFID, with global delivery within six business days, and online tracking, order detail, and analytics to help our customers manage their business. FineLine Technologies was founded in 1998 and is based in Norcross, Georgia.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2012-02-07 Teaching Strategies

Bethesda, Maryland, United States

Teaching Strategies is a provider of childhood educational resources, including curriculum and web-based assessment products. Teaching Strategies offers the industry’s widest selection of research-based, developmentally appropriate instruction and assessment products to the growing early childhood market. Teaching Strategies was established in 1988 and is based in Bethesda, Maryland.

Buy -