GTCR Announces Partnership with David Inns to Form Blucrest

CHICAGO, Oct. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- GTCR, a leading private equity firm, today announced that it has entered into a partnership with David Inns, Lynn Herrick and Bill Yates to form Blucrest LLC ("Blucrest"). Based in San Diego, CA, Blucrest will seek to acquire companies and assets to build a high-growth consumer services business focused on solutions that simplify people's lives.

GTCR, the firm that pioneered The Leaders Strategy™ – finding and partnering with management leaders in core domains to identify, acquire and build market-leading companies through transformational acquisitions and organic growth – will invest in Blucrest from GTCR Fund XIII, a private equity fund with $7.5 billion of limited partner capital commitments alongside substantial investments from Mr. Inns, Ms. Herrick and Mr. Yates.

"We are excited to partner again with David, Lynn and Bill to build a leading high-growth consumer services company," said David Donnini, Managing Director and Head of Business & Consumer Services at GTCR. "This leadership team has an exceptional track record of product innovation and service excellence that make them ideal partners for GTCR."

The Blucrest leaders have a proven 20-year track record in consumer-oriented businesses by building efficient customer acquisition engines, providing excellent customer experiences and accelerating growth with new products and services. Blucrest represents GTCR's second partnership with this executive team. GTCR previously backed Mr. Inns, Ms. Herrick and Mr. Yates in 2017 with the acquisition of GreatCall, the largest provider of connected health and personal emergency response services for active aging across the United States. In their roles as CEO, COO and CMO of GreatCall the team took the company from pre-revenue in 2006 to an acquisition by Best Buy for $800 million in 2018. As the leaders of GreatCall Mr. Inns, Ms. Herrick and Mr. Yates developed and launched over 20 successful products and service solutions, from customized smartphones to emergency response wearables, for aging adults.

"We are thrilled to partner with GTCR to build Blucrest into an industry-leading, high growth consumer services business," said Mr. Inns. "GTCR has deep domain expertise in this industry, a great track record of acquiring and building platforms and a long history of backing experienced management teams. We look forward to this partnership."

"GTCR's formation of Blucrest with David, Lynn and Bill is another excellent example of The Leaders Strategy™ and builds on our history of successful investments in consumer subscription services," added Tom Ehrhart, Principal at GTCR. "We are excited to create this platform and are actively looking for companies and assets in the consumer products and services sector, including founder-led and sponsor-backed companies."

Founded in 1980, GTCR is a leading private equity firm that pioneered The Leaders Strategy™ – finding and partnering with management leaders in core domains to identify, acquire and build market-leading companies through organic growth and strategic acquisitions. GTCR is focused on investing in transformative growth in companies in the Business & Consumer Services, Financial Services & Technology, Healthcare and Technology, Media & Telecommunications sectors. Since its inception, GTCR has invested more than $24 billion in over 270 companies, and the firm currently manages over $27 billion in equity capital. GTCR is based in Chicago with offices in New York and West Palm Beach. For more information, please visit www.gtcr.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.

Blucrest is a new company formed by GTCR in partnership with David Inns, Lynn Herrick and Bill Yates. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, Blucrest will acquire companies and assets to build a high-growth consumer business focused on solutions that simplify people's lives. Through acquisition Blucrest will create a high-growth, efficient organization that understands its customers and has an inclusive, high-energy culture that drives results. Mr. Inns will serve as Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Herrick will serve as Chief Operating Officer and Mr. Yates will serve as Chief Marketing Officer. For more information about Blucrest, please visit www.blucrest.com.

Contact:
Kellie Kennedy,
312-933-4903,
[email protected]

SOURCE GTCR