GPI provides acquisition search services to public and private companies and portfolio companies of private equity groups. Our principals have been retained by a variety of strategic acquirers including Fortune 500 companies, high growth Nasdaq companies and middle market private firms. We have executed hundreds of searches in a wide number of industries.
A typical GPI client has a board level mandate to rapidly increase shareholder value through acquisition. Management needs to achieve these goals in the shortest possible time frame but may not have the available staff to execute a structured search. The optimal solution is to leverage management by retaining an experienced, fully-staffed acquisition search firm. The client benefits in that search activities begin immediately, its cost is variable, management is not disrupted from running the day-to-day business, and internal corporate development professionals can focus their valuable time evaluating and closing transactions, not searching for deals.
Acquisition Search - Case Study
Data Processing Resources Corporation (Nasdaq: DPRC) was a leading national provider of IT Services.
Acquisition Search Mandate
The principals of GPI were retained by DPRC to funcation as an outsourced corporate development team. At the time, DPRC was a $58 million private IT staffing company operating solely in California. Management's plan called for building a national IT staffing and solutions company with high growth specialty practices.
Execution
Management initially focused our search efforts around geographical expansion. We researched over 4,000 companies of which over 750 met their acquisition criteria. Over the course of four years, we identified 110 owners interested in discussing the sale of their business. We visited over 50 targets and advised DPRC on the acquisitions of Professional Software Consultants in Phoenix, Arizona, Leardata Info-Services in Dallas, Texas and Vista High-Tech Resources in North Attleboro, Massachusetts. A year later, DPRC expanded our search mandate to build a specialty practice centered around ERP. We researched over 500 companies to identify over 60 that met DPRC's expanded acquisition criteria. GPI advised DPRC in acquiring Computec International and IT Services, two of the largest independent ERP companies in the United States.
Summary
DPRC's acquisitions provided the foundation upon which management achieved the goals set out in their plan: to become a leading national provider of IT services. The Company went public and achieved over 30% CAGR in earnings per share in each of its three years as a public company. Two and a half years after their IPO, DPRC was acquired in a friendly transaction by Compuware (Nasdaq: CPWR) for $449 million.
In a transaction initiated and advised by a GPI principal
Data Processing Resources Corporation has acquired Computec International Resources
Buyer:
Headquartered in Newport Beach, CA, DPRC is a national IT staffing and consulting firm with multiple technology practices and over 50 offices across the US.Buyer Type:
Publicly Traded (Nasdaq: DPRC)
Seller:
Glendale, CA based Computec International Resources is an IT staffing and services company specializing in recruitment of ERP and other rare skilled consultants from the UK, South Africa and Australia for assignments in the US.Transaction Type:
AcquisitionIn a transaction initiated and advised by GPI
Data Processing Resources Corporation has acquired IT Services, Inc.
Buyer:
Headquartered in Newport Beach, CA, DPRC is a national IT staffing and consulting firm with multiple technology practices and over 50 offices across the US.Buyer Type:
Publicly Traded (Nasdaq: DPRC)
Seller:
Dallas, TX based IT Services, Inc. is a regional IT ERP consulting firm with over 90 professionals specializing in SAP.Transaction Type:
AcquisitionIn a transaction initiated and advised by a GPI principal
Data Processing Resources Corporation has acquired Leardata Info-Services
Buyer:
Headquartered in Newport Beach, CA, DPRC is a national IT staffing and consulting firm with multiple technology practices and over 50 offices across the US.Buyer Type:
Publicly Traded (Nasdaq: DPRC)
Seller:
Dallas, TX based Leardata Info-Services is a central US regional IT staffing and consulting firm with over 150 professionals on assignment.Transaction Type:
AcquisitionIn a transaction initiated and advised by a GPI principal
Data Processing Resources Corporation has acquired Professional Software Consultants
Buyer:
Headquartered in Newport Beach, CA, DPRC is a national IT staffing and consulting firm with multiple technology practices and over 50 offices across the US.Buyer Type:
Publicly Traded (Nasdaq: DPRC)
Seller:
Phoenix, AZ based Professional Software Consultants is a western states IT services and staffing company with approximately 130 technical consultants.Transaction Type:
AcquisitionIn a transaction initiated and advised by GPI
Data Processing Resources Corporation has acquired Vista High-Tech Resources, Inc.
Buyer:
Headquartered in Newport Beach, CA, DPRC is a national IT staffing and consulting firm with multiple technology practices and over 50 offices across the US.Buyer Type:
Publicly Traded (Nasdaq: DPRC)