GI Partners Sells PC Helps Support, LLC to Baird Capital Partners

MENLO PARK, Calif., Sept. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- GI Partners ("GI"), a leading mid-market private equity investment firm, announced today the sale of its portfolio company, PC Helps Support, LLC ("PC Helps"), a leading provider of desktop and mobile software application support services and productivity training, to Baird Capital Partners ("BCP"), the US-based buyout fund of Baird Private Equity. The sale of PC Helps generated a return of approximately five times invested capital to limited partners of GI Partners Fund II, L.P.

PC Helps supports over 200 software applications and serves over 400 clients across 15 vertical markets. The company was acquired by GI Partners in 2005. Under the investment firm's nearly seven years of stewardship, PC Helps substantially expanded its operations and achieved considerable organic growth.  The company increased employee headcount by over 70% and also successfully scaled its operations through a new office expansion in Cleveland, Ohio.  In addition to recruiting industry veteran Brian Madocks as CEO, the company also enhanced its management team with key talent additions who have put in place a number of successful growth initiatives. As a result of these and other efforts, PC Helps achieved substantial sales and EBITDA gains, including topline growth of over 90% throughout the seven year hold period despite a challenging economic environment.

Greg VandenBosch, a Director of GI Partners, said, "It has been a pleasure to work with the management team of PC Helps to build and grow this tremendous franchise. Specifically, I would like to thank PC Helps' CEO, Brian Madocks, and his leadership team for their hard work and vision. The plans they have in place, combined with future support from BCP, will position the company for continued and sustained future success."

Brian Madocks will continue to serve as Chief Executive Officer of PC Helps under BCP's ownership. "We have been extremely pleased with our GI partnership," said Madocks. "They have provided valuable insights, resources and intensive operational engagement as we expanded our business. Now, we look forward to working with BCP as we embark on our next stage of growth."

Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor to PC Helps on the transaction. Paul Hastings LLP served as legal advisor to GI Partners and PC Helps. Sheppard Mullin was legal advisor to Celerity Partners, GI's partner in this transaction. Management received legal advice from Blank Rome.

About PC Helps Support, LLC  
PC Helps is the premier provider of 24/7, expert, end-user support for the core office software applications and mobile devices used every day by corporate employees. With on-demand, just-in-time support and training provided at the moment it's needed, PC Helps keeps knowledge workers on track and helps them exploit the full capabilities of their tools. PC Helps specializes in support for Microsoft Office and other applications, and for the full range of mobile devices on the market today. For more information, please visit www.pchelps.com.

About GI Partners
Established in 2001 and with 46 investment professionals, GI Partners is a leading private investment firm with investments in North America and Western Europe. The firm is active in a number of key sectors, including IT infrastructure and business services, specialist healthcare, financial services, leisure, retail, logistics and media. Since inception, the firm has managed $8.4 billion of assets on behalf of recognized institutional private equity and real estate investors in the U.S., Europe, Asia and the Middle East. For more information, please visit www.gipartners.com.

Contact: Chris Tofalli 
Chris Tofalli Public Relations, LLC
914-834-4334

SOURCE GI Partners