Kaye Scholer Represents Arlington Capital Partners in Sale of Plattform Advertising to Sterling Partners
Kaye Scholer represented Arlington Capital Partners and Plattform Advertising, a leading provider of comprehensive marketing and enrollment-management services to colleges and universities, in the sale of PlattForm Advertising to Sterling Partners. Arlington, a middle market private equity firm focused on buyouts and recapitalizations in targeted growth industries in partnership with management, initially became involved with PlattForm in 2006.
The Kaye Scholer team consisted of Partners Mel Cherney, Derek Stoldt, Laurie Abramowitz, Jeffrey London and Greg Silberman; Counsel Peter Danias, Jeff Misher and Lauretta Moran; Associates Konstantinos Yiannipoulos, Stephen Sandiford, Connie Ericson and Brian Witkowski; and Paralegal Stanley Tobias.
Below is a copy of the press release issued earlier today:
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Arlington Capital Partners Announces the Sale of Ad Venture Interactive and its primary operating subsidiary, PlattForm Advertising
WASHINGTON, DC, January 10, 2013 -- Arlington Capital Partners (www.arlingtoncap.com), a Washington, DC-based private equity firm, today announced the sale of its portfolio company Ad Venture Interactive (“AVI”) to Sterling Partners. The transaction closed on December 27, 2012 and the terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
AVI, through its primary operating subsidiary, PlattForm Advertising (“PlattForm”) is the largest provider of integrated marketing and enrollment services to the higher education industry, including both career colleges and traditional universities. PlattForm offers a combination of diversified services to best serve client needs, including interactive pay-per-lead, digital media and traditional marketing services. Arlington Capital partnered with Michael Platt, PlattForm’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, when it made its initial investment in 2005.
Jeffrey Freed, a Managing Partner at Arlington Capital said, “We thoroughly enjoyed our partnership with Michael Platt and the strong team at PlattForm, who together built an industry leader. Arlington proactively targeted this industry based on the thesis that the higher education sector would grow as well as continue to outsource the marketing and enrollment function. Our thesis was validated based on the significant growth of the business and the increased penetration of PlattForm’s service offerings within many of its new and existing clients.”
“The PlattForm team delivered impressive results, with consistent annual revenue and EBITDA growth that was achieved through both a challenging economy and a shifting regulatory environment,” remarked Robert Knibb, Partner at Arlington Capital. “We were especially pleased with their dramatic growth serving the traditional university segment, in particular, some of the most prestigious and select universities in the country.”
Michael Platt said, “We are very pleased with the results of our partnership with Arlington Capital. With Arlington’s guidance and support, we increased net revenue by nearly 700%, expanded our customer service offerings, reduced customer concentration, and further strengthened our leadership position in the industry. We were also able to make a number of tuck-in acquisitions that gave us additional scale that we and Arlington were able to source proprietarily.”
About Arlington Capital Partners
Arlington Capital Partners is a Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm with $1.5 billion of committed capital under management focused on middle market investment opportunities in growth industries including: aerospace/defense, government contracting, healthcare services, education, business services, and software. The firm’s professionals and network have a unique combination of operating and private equity experience that enables Arlington to be a value-added investor. Arlington invests in companies in partnership with high quality management teams that are motivated to establish and/or advance their company’s position as leading competitors in their field. www.arlingtoncap.com
About Ad Venture Interactive and PlattForm Advertising
Ad Venture Interactive (“AVI”) is the largest provider of integrated marketing and enrollment services to the higher education industry. Headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas, the Company is highly differentiated from its peers owing to a full suite of ROI-driven marketing solutions, including performance-based lead generation, pay-per-click, and search engine optimization, as well as direct response media placement. AVI operates through five brands, including: PlattForm Advertising, PlattForm Higher Education, Beauty Schools Marketing Group, Transportation Marketing Group, and Vertical Marketing Group. http://www.ad-venture-interactive.com / www.plattformad.com
Contact:
Jeffrey Freed, Robert Knibb or Edward Weklar
Arlington Capital Partners
5425 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 200
Chevy Chase, MD 20815
202-337-7500
202-337-7525 (fax)
SOURCE: Arlington Capital Partners
