Siris Capital portfolio company, Transaction Networks Services, Inc, Announces Investment from Koch Equity Development LLC
RESTON, VA, January 11, 2016 – Transaction Network Services (TNS) and private-equity firm Siris Capital Group, LLC (Siris) announced today that an affiliate of Koch Equity Development LLC (KED) and co-investors including affiliates of Eaglehill Advisors LLC (Eaglehill) and MSD Capital, L.P. (MSD) have made a minority equity investment in Trident Private Holdings III, LLC, a holding company of TNS.
TNS provides secure, mission critical connectivity and gateway services via a global network enabling its customers to exchange data and information and transact worldwide. Siris acquired TNS in a sponsor-led “take-private” transaction in 2013 and will continue to hold a controlling interest.
“Siris and KED share a similar philosophy on how to drive world-class performance and create value in companies like TNS,” said Frank Baker, co-founder and managing partner of Siris. “The investment provides a solid foundation for TNS’ management team to continue to pursue attractive growth and acquisition opportunities in new products and markets.”
“This is an exciting investment opportunity for KED,” said Brett Watson, managing director of KED. “TNS has an excellent reputation for delivering reliable interoperability solutions and a strong management team with a consistent record of delivering results.”
Matt Flamini, president of KED, added, “Joining with best-in-class investors like Siris in businesses with strong management teams is a core tenet of the KED investment strategy.”
Bob Aquilina, Siris Capital Executive Partner and Executive Chairman of TNS stated, “The investment is a strong validation of the market leadership and growth strategy of TNS, as well as the success achieved by the management team and Siris to date. We welcome the fresh perspective of the new investors to the board and their commitment to the success of TNS.”
Mike Keegan, TNS’ chief executive officer, commented, “Following the recent divestiture of the Caller Name and Line Information Database Solutions business, the company is better positioned from both a capitalization and growth perspective, providing us ample flexibility to continue to focus on growth in global managed network services across the payments, financial services, and telecom verticals, while continuing to serve our customers’ most mission-critical requirements at the highest levels.”
Eaglehill Advisors LLC has been advising TNS on strategic alternatives. Rothschild Inc. acted as financial advisor to KED. Winston & Strawn LLP and Sidley Austin LLP acted as legal advisor to Siris. Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP acted as legal adviser to KED. The transaction was signed and completed on January 11, 2016. Additional terms of the deal were not disclosed.
About Koch Equity Development LLC
Koch Equity Development LLC is the acquisition and investment subsidiary of Koch Industries, Inc. Based in Wichita, Kansas, Koch Industries, Inc. is one of the largest private companies in America with estimated annual revenues as high as $115 billion, according to Forbes. It owns a diverse group of companies involved in refining, chemicals, biofuels and ingredients; forest and consumer products; fertilizers; polymers and fibers; process and pollution control equipment and technologies; electronic components; commodity trading; minerals; energy; ranching; glass; and investments. Since 2003, Koch companies have invested more than $70 billion in acquisitions and other capital expenditures. With a presence in more than 60 countries, Koch companies employ more than 100,000 people worldwide, with about 60,000 of those in the United States. From January 2009 to present, Koch companies have earned more than 1,000 awards for safety, environmental excellence, community stewardship, innovation, and customer service.
About Eaglehill Advisors LLC
Eaglehill delivers a wide range of capital raising solutions and strategic financial and capital markets advisory. Eaglehill also serves as an investment manager to a middle market direct lending strategy. Eaglehill was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in New York, New York. Further information can be found at: http://www.eaglehillcapital.com/.
About MSD Capital, L.P.
MSD Capital, L.P. is the private investment firm that was established in 1998 to exclusively manage the capital of Michael Dell and his family. The firm utilizes a multi-disciplinary investment strategy focused on maximizing long-term capital appreciation by making investments across the globe in the equities of public and private companies, credit, real estate and other asset classes and securities. MSD Private Capital Group leads the firm’s control equity and structured preferred investments into outstanding businesses with world-class management teams. MSD Capital’s team operates from the firm’s offices in New York and Santa Monica.
About Siris Capital Group, LLC
Siris Capital is a leading private equity firm focused on making control investments in data, telecommunications, technology and technology-enabled business service companies in North America. Integral to Siris’ investment approach is its partnership with exceptional senior operating executives, or Executive Partners, who work exclusively with Siris to identify, validate and operate investment opportunities. Their significant involvement allows Siris to partner with management to add value both operationally and strategically. To learn more, visit us at www.siriscapital.com.
About Transaction Network Services, Inc.
Transaction Network Services (TNS) is a leading global provider of data communications and interoperability solutions. TNS offers a broad range of networks and innovative value-added services which enable transactions and the exchange of information in diverse industries such as retail, banking, payment processing, telecommunications and the financial market. Founded in 1990 in the United States, TNS has grown steadily and now provides services in over 60 countries across the Americas, Europe and the Asia Pacific region, with reach extending to many more. TNS has designed and implemented multiple data networks which support a variety of widely accepted communications protocols and are designed to be scalable and accessible by multiple methods. TNS is a portfolio company of funds managed by Siris Capital Group.
For further information please contact:
Clare Cockroft or Joanne Moorwood
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