Abacus Finance Group, LLC, a New York-based direct lending company that provides cash-flow senior financing for private equity-sponsored, lower-middle market companies announced that it served as administrative agent and sole lead arranger for $70 million in senior secured credit facilities to support the add-on acquisition of RenewData Corporation by LDiscovery, LLC, a WestView Capital Partners, LP portfolio company.
Based in Austin, TX, RenewData is a legal consulting and technology company that helps corporations and law firms mine their unstructured data to significantly reduce the time, cost and risk associated with investigations and litigation. Located in McLean, VA, LDiscovery is a leader in providing end-to-end e-discovery management solutions – from data collection through trial – to law firms, corporations and government agencies. WestView Capital Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm focused exclusively on lower-middle market companies, manages approximately $1 billion in capital.
“The merger with RenewData creates an industry-leading e-discovery provider with unparalleled capabilities,” said Christopher Weiler, cofounder and President of LDiscovery. “It creates an outstanding full service platform that offers best-of-breed services backed by leading edge third-party and proprietary technologies.”
“As has been the case in the past, selecting Abacus Finance was an easy decision for us,” said Rick Williams, WestView Managing Partner. “They know the space well having supported the recapitalization of LDiscovery in 2011. That enabled them to move quickly and, once again, they demonstrated the strength of their capital markets expertise, something that we have come to value from Abacus.”
“We are fortunate to have a very strong working relationship with WestView, a longstanding sponsor client with a roster of high quality companies in its portfolio,” said Tim Clifford, President and CEO of Abacus. “We have always been impressed by LDiscovery and its outstanding CEO Chris Weiler, and RenewData is a terrific acquisition for them. Our knowledge of the industry and our speed – important aspects of what we call our Total Partnership Approach™ – led to a smooth and timely close.”
Abacus team members involved in the transaction included Sean McKeever, Eric Petersen and Joseph Lee. Legal counsel was provided to Abacus by Goulston & Storrs, LLP.
Founded in 2001 and based in Austin, TX, RenewData is a legal consulting and technology company that helps corporations and law firms mine their unstructured data to significantly reduce the time, cost and risk associated with investigations and litigation. One of the company’s primary areas of focus is the acceleration of reviews, and the proprietary Language-Based Analytics (LBA) that it developed quickly identifies relevant legal review documents.
Established in 2005 and based in McLean, VA, LDiscovery provides a full range of e-discovery services to law firms, corporations and government agencies. Comprised of attorneys, engineers and litigation support professionals, the firm is a leader in cost-effective end-to-end e-discovery management solutions – data collection and forensic investigations, early case assessment, ESI processing, and web based document review and production through trial support.
WestView Capital Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm focused exclusively on lower-middle market growth companies, manages approximately $1 billion in capital across three funds. WestView partners with existing management teams to sponsor majority and minority recapitalizations, growth, and consolidation transactions in a wide range of industries including healthcare services, business and technology services, software, industrial/manufacturing, and consumer/retail. WestView invests in companies with operating profits between $3 million and $20 million with investment sizes ranging from $10 million to $50 million.
Abacus Finance is a direct specialty lending company, focused on providing cash flow senior financing to private equity-sponsored, lower-middle market companies nationwide. Formed in June 2011, Abacus targets debt financing opportunities of up to $50 million with a typical hold size ranging from $10 million to $25 million, and finances companies with EBITDA between $3 million and $15 million. Abacus is an affiliate of New York Private Bank & Trust, the holding company for Emigrant Bank, which was founded in 1850.