June 24, 2014

Croft & Bender Serves as Financial Advisor to Falfurrias Capital Partners on its Acquisition of American Safety Council

Croft & Bender, an Atlanta-based investment banking and private equity firm, is pleased to announce that Falfurrias Capital Partners has partnered with the management team of American Safety Council, Inc. ("ASC") to complete a recapitalization transaction.

Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, ASC is a leading provider of e-Learning training solutions to address transportation and workplace safety, testing, medical continuing education and other regulatory-driven training on behalf of government, institutions of higher learning, business and industry, and individual clients. ASC serves more than 750,000 customers annually.

Falfurrias Capital Partners is a Charlotte-based private equity investment firm founded in 2006 by Hugh McColl Jr., former chairman and CEO of Bank of America, and Marc Oken, former CFO of Bank of America. The firm is focused on acquiring or investing in a diverse portfolio of growth oriented middle market companies. By leveraging the extensive strategic and operational experience and business relationships of the firm’s principals, Falfurrias Capital Partners is positioned to be a value added partner for both its portfolio companies and its limited partners.

Croft & Bender served as the exclusive financial advisor to Falfurrias Capital Partners on the transaction. “Not only did Croft & Bender identify a very attractive asset in an industry that we were targeting, their experience and relationships with the seller’s advisors proved critical to negotiating the deal and resolving the various challenges that we faced during the process,” said Falfurrias Partner Ed McMahan.

“It was a pleasure working with the Falfurrias team, Jeff Pairan and his team at ASC, and his advisors led by Joey Silver at DLA Piper on this transaction,” commented Bo Briggs, Managing Director at Croft & Bender. “We knew the Falfurrias team was actively targeting investments in the e-Learning industry. Their ability to develop a strong relationship with CEO Jeff Pairan and their flexibility in dealing with issues were instrumental to successfully closing the transaction. ASC has an established track record of innovation and growth, and their partnership with the Falfurrias team will provide the company deep operational expertise and support to continue its impressive growth trajectory and enhance its position at the forefront of its market.”

DLA Piper acted as legal advisor to American Safety Council.