NEW YORK, Oct. 25, 2011-- MidOcean Partners ("MidOcean"), a leading private
equity firm, announced today that it has acquired Global Knowledge, a
worldwide leader in IT and business skills training.
Based in Cary, NC,
Global Knowledge was founded in 1995 and today employs more than 1,300
people worldwide. The company provides training solutions to enterprise
and government organizations and delivers courses via its global
training centers, private facilities, and the Internet. More than
250,000 students receive instruction annually.
Brian Branson,
President and Chief Executive Officer of Global Knowledge who will
continue in those positions, said, "Our new relationship with MidOcean
will enable us to accelerate our growth plan and our response to the
changing market needs for high quality IT and business skills training.
We look forward to working with MidOcean to further develop and deliver
innovative training solutions."
Mr. Branson and his senior management team will benefit from the support of Jim Kelly
who has been named Global Knowledge's Executive Chairman. Mr. Kelly is a
senior executive who has worked with MidOcean as a management resource
to the firm and has extensive experience in the business services and IT
areas. He served most recently as President of Global Payments, Inc.
In addition MidOcean has named Doug Fox, former Senior Vice President of Marketing at Compaq to serve on the Global Knowledge Board of Directors.
Tyler Zachem,
a Managing Director at MidOcean Partners, said, "We are very pleased to
partner with the superb management team at Global Knowledge. This
investment provides us the opportunity to support this exceptional
company, which is well positioned to excel in a fragmented but robust
corporate training market. We believe the company has tremendous growth
prospects as the need for quality technical training remains a critical
component to IT and business professionals at organizations of all
sizes."
The transaction was supported by BMO Capital Markets,
acting as financial advisor, and Ropes & Gray LLP, acting as legal
advisor to the seller. Morrison Cohen LLP acted as legal advisor to
MidOcean Partners.
About Global Knowledge
Global
Knowledge is the worldwide leader in IT and business skills training,
with more than 1,200 courses that span foundational and specialized
training and certifications. Its core training is focused on Cisco,
Microsoft, Avaya, VMware, Red Hat, business process improvement, and
leadership development. Training is offered through multiple delivery
methods, ranging from instructor-led to self-paced learning in
classrooms or via the Internet, enabling customers to choose when,
where, and how they want to receive training programs and learning
services. For more information, visit www.globalknowledge.com.
About MidOcean Partners
MidOcean Partners is a premier private equity firm headquartered in New York
focused on the middle market. MidOcean is committed to investing in
high quality companies with stable market positions and multiple
opportunities for growth. Targeted sectors include consumer, media and
communications, business and financial services and industrial services.
MidOcean utilizes a broad foundation of expertise in its focus
industries to create value for its investors and partners. For more
information, visit www.midoceanpartners.com.
