Crestline Specialty Lending ( "CSL"), a part of the opportunistic investment group of Crestline Investors, Inc., a credit-focused institutional alternative asset manager, is pleased to announce its support of benefitexpress with its add-on acquisition of benefitsCONNECT.

benefitexpress, headquartered in Schaumburg, IL, provides a cloud-based Software-as-a-Service platform for employee benefits and health exchanges. The company provides software and services, including benefit enrollment, management and administration, billing services and a call center, to employers across the U.S.  benefitexpress was formed in 2001 and is a current portfolio company of LLR Partners ("LLR"), a Philadelphia-based private equity investment firm.

"Since completing the investment with LLR, benefitexpress has been committed to building on our existing momentum and investing in our growth," said Michael Sternklar, CEO of benefitexpress. "The acquisition of benefitsCONNECT is an exciting milestone in our growth plan, giving employers and insurance brokers access to benefits administration and enrollment solutions for companies of all sizes."

"Crestline provided a creative financing solution on an expedited timeline," said Sasank Aleti, Vice President of LLR. "We are pleased to have Crestline as a lending partner and look forward to continuing to work with them."

"Crestline is excited to support LLR and partner with the benefitexpress management team as they continue to execute their growth strategy," said Jonathan Ben-Horin, Director at Crestline. "The combined businesses are highly complementary and the acquisition of benefitsCONNECT solidifies benefitexpress' position as a leading provider of benefits administration and enrollment solutions."

Crestline Specialty Lending seeks to provide $10 million to 100 million senior secured, unitranche and second lien financings to lower-middle and middle-market companies in North America and Europe. CSL lends to companies with highly recurring revenues and has significant experience in technology, media, telecom and healthcare services. CSL typically lends to businesses with $4mm+ of EBITDA and can also lend to companies with minimal cash flow on a multiple of recurring revenues.

Crestline Investors, Inc., founded in 1997 and based in Fort Worth, TX, is a credit focused institutional alternative investment management firm. Crestline specializes in credit, opportunistic investments, and hedge fund and beta solutions. In addition to its Fort Worth, Texas headquarters, the company maintains affiliate offices in New York City, Chicago, London, Toronto and Tokyo.

LLR Partners is a Philadelphia-based private equity investment firm focused on investing in middle market growth companies.  LLR invests in a broad range of industries, with an emphasis on software, technology-enabled services and healthcare.  Founded in 1999 and with more than $2 billion raised across four funds, LLR is a flexible provider of capital for growth, recapitalizations and buyouts. 

benefitexpress is the leading middle market, cloud-based platform for employee benefits and health exchange services, with a focus on flexibility and client service. By offering technology that integrates all benefits, in a one stop shop, benefitexpress provides simplicity to complex plans and offers a custom-made experience to engage and educate employees while offering employers an ease of benefit management that is unmatched in market.