ORC International Returns to Independent Status

NEW YORK, July 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Global market research firm ORC International today announced the company's return to independent status through a partnership and majority investment from Lake Capital, a private equity firm that invests exclusively in service-based enterprises. CEO Marc Litvinoff and the ORC International global leadership team led the transaction with the objective of creating an enhanced platform to accelerate the company's global growth initiatives.

Founded in 1938, ORC International is a leading global market research firm with offices across the U.S., Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. The company was recently named a Top 20 Research firm on the Global Honomichl List – the market research industry's premiere ranking of global firms.  ORC International has continued to expand its offerings to include primary research, secondary research, strategic intelligence, expert advisory services, innovative social analytics solutions, omnibus services and expertise across a range of industries.

"I am pleased to announce we have closed this transformative transaction with Lake Capital," said Litvinoff. "It has been a pleasure being a part of the Infogroup family for the past five years and we look forward to a continued business relationship with them. Our new chapter with Lake Capital is a great fit for ORC International as it will give us the flexibility to invest in high-growth opportunities that will further enhance our existing research offerings to clients and expand our global footprint," Litvinoff added.  

"We look forward to partnering with Marc and ORC International's global leadership team," said Terence Graunke, co-founder of Lake Capital. "The market research space is undergoing meaningful change – today's research clients are experimenting with social media, leveraging new technologies and increasingly focusing on measuring return on their marketing spend. We are confident that Lake Capital's financial and operational resources will help ORC International management to capitalize on these opportunities to serve clients. Together, we intend to grow the company via acquisition and organic initiatives."

Infogroup acquired research firms Opinion Research Corporation in 2006 and Guideline in 2007, which were combined to form ORC International in 2009. Infogroup and its subsidiaries were acquired by CCMP in 2010. Details of the ORC International-Lake Capital transaction were not disclosed.

About ORC International

ORC International is a leading global market research firm with offices across the U.S., Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. ORC offers the unique ability to integrate primary and secondary research, competitive intelligence and expert insight to address the business challenges of its clients worldwide. The company has been a partner of CNN on the CNN/ORC poll since 2006. To learn more about ORC, visit www.ORCInternational.com.

About Lake Capital

Lake Capital is a private equity firm that focuses on investments in service-based enterprises across various industries. The firm currently manages more than $1.3 billion in equity commitments and seeks to build leading services companies through organic and acquisition-enhanced growth. More information about Lake Capital is available at www.lakecapital.com.

SOURCE ORC International