The Gordian Group Receives Investment from Warburg Pincus

NEW YORK and MAULDIN, S.C., March 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Warburg Pincus, a leading global private equity firm focused on growth investing, today announced that it has acquired a majority ownership in The Gordian Group ("Gordian" or the "Company"), a leading construction pricing data and procurement software business servicing the construction industry, from The Wicks Group of Companies, a private equity firm.  Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Gordian maintains a market-leading position with the largest and most detailed database of construction task prices in the world with a proprietary pricing database of over 260,000 construction tasks with information on local labor, equipment and materials costs.  The Company helps facilitate over $1.5 billion of annual job order contracting ("JOC") within the repair, maintenance and alterations ("RMA") segment of the market for a customer base that includes some of the largest federal, state and local agencies in the United States.  Gordian's well-known product lines include the JOC Complete Solution®, the JOC Solution™,  ezIQC®, and eGordian®.

Alex Berzofsky, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus said, "With the most advanced construction cost data and the ability to provide measurable time and cost savings to its clients, Gordian has established itself as the premier JOC provider.  We are excited about the tremendous opportunity to build on Gordian's success."

Justin Sadrian, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus added, "The team at Gordian pioneered the concept of JOC over 20 years ago and they have continued to innovate and lead the market to this day.  We are eager to partner with co-founders Harry Mellon and Robert Coffey and the entire Gordian management team to continue to advance the Company's mission and accelerate the Company's growth plans."

"Since 1990, Gordian advanced JOC by delivering significant time and cost savings and developed the Company into an industry leader.  We look forward to working closely with Warburg Pincus as we enter this next phase of growing our business through innovation and by meeting the needs of facility and infrastructure owners throughout the United States," said Robert D. Coffey, Chief Executive Officer, The Gordian Group.  

Harry Mellon, Chairman, The Gordian group added, "We appreciate The Wicks Group's support during the past four years in helping us build our business and we wish them continued success in the years to come.  We are excited to have Warburg Pincus as a partner as we enter into an exciting time of innovation and growth at The Gordian Group."

Advisors

Kirkland & Ellis served as legal advisor and KPMG provided accounting diligence support for Warburg Pincus.  Bingham McCutchen served as legal advisor to The Gordian Group and The Wicks Group of Companies.

About The Gordian Group

The Gordian Group, Inc. is a product and services firm that specializes in development and implementation of highly efficient and cost effective Job Order Contracting ("JOC") programs for facility and infrastructure owners. Headquartered in Mauldin, South Carolina, Gordian has provided JOC solutions to public and private sector clients since 1990. For more information, go to www.TheGordianGroup.com.

About Warburg Pincus

Warburg Pincus is a leading global private equity firm. The firm has more than $30 billion in assets under management. Its active portfolio of more than 125 companies is highly diversified by stage, sector and geography. Warburg Pincus is a growth investor and an experienced partner to management teams seeking to build durable companies with sustainable value. Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has raised 13 private equity funds which have invested more than $40 billion in over 650 companies in more than 30 countries. Since inception, the firm has invested more than $13.5 billion in technology, media and data-driven companies, including investments in BEA Systems, FIS, Institutional Shareholder Services, iParadigms, MLM Information Services, Coyote Logistics, Multiview, CAMP Systems, NeuStar, Nuance Communications, RDA Microelectronics, UGS Capital, VERITAS Software, Wall Street Systems and Ziggo. The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Mumbai, San Francisco, Sao Paulo and Shanghai. For more information, please visit www.warburgpincus.com.

About The Wicks Group of Companies

The Wicks Group of Companies, L.L.C. is a private equity firm based in New York City that invests in lower-middle-market companies operating in selected segments of the information, education and media industries principally in the United States and Canada. Wicks currently owns or has owned companies in numerous sectors including educational publishing, distance, site-based and continuing education, business-to-business and business-to-consumer information, software and data services, radio and television broadcasting, out-of-home advertising, music publishing and media storage. Since its founding in 1989, Wicks has invested over $1 billion of capital in 28 platform companies and approximately 100 add-on acquisitions. The firm has applied a consistent investment strategy since its founding, partnering with high-quality, experienced management teams to build businesses organically and through acquisitions.

Media Contacts

The Gordian Group:
Phil Romba
Heins-Romba Associates, LLC.
864.349-7607

Warburg Pincus:
Ed Trissel / Jeff Smith
212.878.9288 / 212.878.9205

SOURCE Warburg Pincus