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ZRG closes significant investment from new and existing shareholders to accelerate growth of global talent advisory platform

ZRG, a global talent advisory firm and portfolio company of RFE Investment Partners, today announced that it has secured a new secondary equity investment from a consortium of new and existing institutional investors led by Timber Bay Partners.

ZRG currently is a market leader in the global executive recruiting marketplace, and also provides interim/on demand talent solutions, human capital consulting services, and recruitment process outsourcing (“RPO”).

This new capital will accelerate ZRG’s acquisition and hiring efforts as the company continues to build-out a full suite of offerings to help clients solve people problems.

In line with this strategic fundraising, ZRG announced on December 6 that is acquired Hub Recruiting, a Tech Enabled RPO provider to address volume hiring needs globally.

The new equity round included increased support from existing investors as well as a number of new institutions.  RFE will manage the new equity consortium and will maintain a control equity position.

Concurrent with the new equity investment in the Company, ZRG also announced the closing of a new and expanded senior credit facility led by Truist Bank. Proceeds will be used to refinance existing debt and provide additional capital for future growth.

“We see tremendous opportunity to acquire great businesses in the recruiting and talent advisory areas that will augment our organic growth across all of our business lines. The new equity capital and expanded credit facility provide ample dry powder for our organic and acquisition growth plans,” said Larry Hartmann, CEO of ZRG. “Additionally, we will continue to invest in our disruptive  Zi technology platform and grow our interim and consulting businesses in tandem with our core executive recruiting deliverables.”

Michael Rubel, Managing Director at RFE, commented: “ZRG has an exceptional track record of supporting and growing acquired companies that have all thrived under ZRG’s resources and unique culture.   This new capital accelerates our strategy of partnering with great new human capital people and brands.”

Atlantic-Pacific Capital served as exclusive global financial advisor and placement agent. Truist Bank served as the sole lead arranger for the new credit facility. Specific financial terms are not disclosed.

About ZRG:
ZRG is a global talent advisory firm that is changing the way companies hire and manage talent. ZRG’s data-driven approach to executive and professional search has been changing the way clients think about how to find top talent. The company’s digital Zi platform combines talent intelligence, candidate insights, and process improvement to dramatically deliver executive searches quicker and with proven better results.

About RFE Investment Partners:
RFE Investment Partners is a private equity firm focused on making control investments in established small market companies located in the United States. RFE is a long-standing firm founded in 1980 with over 40 years of experience investing in the lower middle market. RFE’s investment strategy is to transform its portfolio companies from the lower end of the market to fully professionalized and market-leading middle-market companies. RFE is currently investing out of Fund IX. For more information, visit www.rfeip.com.

About Timber Bay Partners:
Timber Bay Partners is an independent private equity firm focused on General Partner-led secondary transactions. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Cincinnati, OH, the firm’s investment professionals have worked with general partners for more than a decade to structure unique and creative solutions to liquidity issues faced by mature private equity funds.

About Truist:
Truist Financial Corporation is a purpose-driven financial services company committed to inspiring and building better lives and communities. Truist has leading market share in many high-growth markets in the country, and offers a wide range of services including retail, small business and commercial banking; asset management; capital markets; commercial real estate; corporate and institutional banking; insurance; mortgage; payments; specialized lending; and wealth management. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Truist is a top 10 U.S. commercial bank with total assets of $544 billion as of March 31, 2022. Truist Bank, Member FDIC.  Learn more at Truist.com.

About Atlantic Pacific:
Atlantic-Pacific Capital is the largest independently owned global placement agent and advisory firm dedicated to raising capital for alternative investments. Since its founding in 1995, Atlantic-Pacific has organically grown into a global organization with an established brand in the private equity community. Over the last two decades, the firm has executed on over 110 capital raising assignments aggregating over $75 billion for an extraordinary group of alternative asset managers.

Merger will expand PureRED’s capabilities in design, copy & content, animation, digital delivery and analytics

Fairfield, CT– February 27, 2023 – Today, leading marketing, data, and technology partner PureRED and global creative agency Haddad & Partners (“H&P”) announced that effective immediately, the companies will merge to form a larger, more comprehensive offering. PureRED CEO Brian Cohen will oversee the newly formed company, with H&P Founder and Chief Creative Officer DJ Haddad remaining in his current role to oversee legacy H&P clients.

PureRED and H&P retain their individual brand identities and client rosters. The combined leadership team aligns under a centralized P&L delivering a broader suite of integrated and strategic solutions for clients. Both agencies will retain their headcount with an eye towards growth and innovation in the future.

For existing PureRED clients such as Kroger, Rite Aid, New Jersey Lottery, and Sanofi, and H&P clients including Charter, Microsoft, and TD Bank, the merger opens up new possibilities including an increased global reach. The newly combined network of over 600 employees offers clients robust strategy, creative, and veteran expertise with a deeper integrated marketing service, technology, and creative offerings.

“This is a great day and we are energized about the possibilities this new partnership affords our clients and teammates,” said Brian Cohen, CEO at PureRED and H&P. “H&P’s expertise in content creation, innovation and digital delivery complements PureRED’s technology, data, and creative offerings seamlessly. DJ and his team have built an impressive company, and their culture aligns perfectly with ours. The future is bright for all of us.”

Building on PureRED’s corporate growth strategy, this merger elevates PureRED’s creative and digital capabilities for current and future clients. For H&P, it brings together parallel corporate cultures and top-notch talents and skill sets.

“This is the next evolutionary step for H&P and we’re beyond excited to be taking it with PureRED. This move expands our talent pool and capabilities, and it also provides our clients with plenty of new offerings, while giving our global team some amazing opportunities for growth,” said DJ Haddad. “We look forward to the exchange of cultures and ideas between our two companies and the benefits it’ll bring to all of our clients.”

PureRED is a portfolio company of RFE Investment Partners (“RFE”), Caymus Equity Partners and Starboard Capital Partners. G2 Capital Partners acted as advisor to PureRED.

About PureRED
PureRED is a leading marketing, data and technology partner delivering digital content at scale. With over 50 years experience, PureRED works with 14 of the largest 25 retailers in the country, and provides fully integrated marketing and advertising capabilities for Fortune 500 brands across retail, consumer packaged goods, financial services and specialty brands.

PureRED is an award winning, 600+ associate, PE-owned advertising, marketing and technology company that creates and distributes digital content at scale for 14 of the largest 25 retailers in the US, and also provides Fully Integrated Advertising and Marketing solutions for Fortune 500 Consumer and Retail brands. For more information, visit www.purered.net.

About Haddad & Partners (H&P)
Haddad & Partners is a full-service, global creative agency made up of a veteran team of problem solvers, designers, copywriters, animators, developers, video producers and all-around doers. Since 2007, they’ve worked tirelessly for some of the world’s biggest brands such as Microsoft, Amazon, TD Bank, Fannie Mae and Total Wine & More in generating innovative and measurable creative campaigns, while never losing sight of the importance of maintaining a highly collaborative remote working environment. For more information, visit www.haddadandpartners.com.

Max Home Inspection, Residential Inspector of America, PestNation, and The Inspectagator brands will share relationships, support systems, and best practices as part of Launchpad Home Group.

AUSTIN, TX (Feb. 28, 2023) – RFE Investment Partners (“RFE”), a Connecticut-based private equity firm, today announced the formation of LaunchPad Home Group (“LaunchPad”), a family of home inspection and residential services brands sharing relationships, support systems, and best practices.

LaunchPad’s mission is to create lifelong customer relationships by simplifying home ownership at every stage of the journey. Built on a “people first” foundation, LaunchPad is committed to being the “employer of choice” in the home inspection and pest control industries with full alignment and buy-in at all levels of the company.

LaunchPad serves as the parent company under which RFE’s original 2022 investments in Florida-based Max Home Inspections, All Year Pest Control, and Logix Home Services will reside alongside future brand partners.

In conjunction with the announcement, LaunchPad has welcomed Residential Inspector of America (“RIA”), PestNation, All-Pro Home Inspections (“API”), Step By Step Inspections (“SBS”), HomePro Inspections (“HPI”), and The Inspectagator as new partners in the family of companies.

“We are excited to introduce our new organization and mission statement to the market, which reflects our plans to partner with and invest in leading home services brands,” said LaunchPad CEO Scott Swayze. “Our Austin-based ‘home team’ will provide support, tools, resources, training, new services, and capital to help our partner brands thrive in their regional markets. We are very pleased to welcome RIA, PestNation, API, SBS, HPI, and The Inspectagator to our family of companies.”

Residential Inspector of America (RIA) and PestNation
RIA is the largest and most prominent home inspection provider in the Atlanta area, while PestNation provides a full breadth of pest control and extermination services. Founded in 1989, RIA has developed a culture built on a growth mindset focused on technical excellence and exceptional client service. Over the past several years, RIA has partnered with three inspection companies in Nashville (API), Charleston (SBS), and Jacksonville (HPI) to expand its services in these markets and broaden its geographic reach.

“We quickly identified that the LaunchPad team ‘walks the talk,’ puts in the work, fits our culture, is trustworthy, and is committed to seeing the team win big,” said Rob and Cat Lemoine, owners and leaders of RIA and PestNation. “Our new LaunchPad family is helping us build the infrastructure and talented team that we will need to scale past what anybody thought to be possible in the home inspection industry — all while providing massive opportunities and a bigger future for our team members.”

As part of LaunchPad Home Group, RIA is positioned to extend and accelerate its geographic growth providing exceptional home inspection services to new markets. Rob and Catherine Lemoine will continue to lead the RIA and PestNation brands while serving on the LaunchPad Board of Directors as significant shareholders of the parent company alongside RFE.

“We are especially excited to welcome Rob and Cat to our leadership ranks. Both bring an impressive amount of industry knowledge and highly personalized customer relationships that will complement LaunchPad’s strong growth trajectory throughout the Southeast,” Swayze added.

The Inspectagator
The Inspectagator is a provider of home and commercial inspections serving the greater Orlando region for over 25 years. Jon and Bobbi Lynn Bolton, founders and owners of The Inspectagator, have joined the LaunchPad leadership team as Directors of Inspector Training and Human Resources.

“When we recognized the opportunity in LaunchPad and the fortuitous prospect of venturing side by side with giants in the industry where we absolutely could accomplish far more than we were able with our own limited funds and schedule, it was just a ‘mic drop’ moment for us,” the Boltons said.

About LaunchPad Home Group
LaunchPad Home Group is a family of regional home inspection and services brands sharing relationships, support systems, best practices, and capital base for the mutual growth of our brands.  LaunchPad’s mission is to create lifelong relationships by simplifying home ownership at every stage of the journey, from inspections to remodeling to day-to-day safekeeping and maintenance. For more information, visit www.launchpadhomegroup.com.

WINSTON-SALEM, NC, and TAMPA, FL — CongruityHR (“Congruity)”, a North Carolina-based, leading outsourced HR solutions provider, announced today its acquisition of JanusHR, a Tampa-based provider of comprehensive, personalized HR services for small to medium-sized businesses across Florida.

JanusHR (“Janus”) was founded and led by Daneen Gurney, who previously had a 20+ year career with Oasis Outsourcing, where she started as one of the first sales representatives and quickly rose to District Manager, Regional Vice President, and then VP of Strategic Partnerships. Gurney managed eight (8) markets, opened over ten (10) offices, and helped manage several acquisitions for Oasis. Under Gurney’s leadership, JanusHR achieved significant market share in the Tampa Bay region.

“We are thrilled to join forces with Congruity, and take advantage of their existing brand, channel, and presence in the Southeast,” said Gurney.

“We are excited to welcome Daneen and the Janus team to the Congruity family. They bring a high level of industry expertise to our organization,” said Darrin Hunter, Congruity CEO. “The addition of JanusHR brings great value to Congruity’s portfolio and expands on our commitment to legacy brands, relationships and people.”

“Janus has seen tremendous organic growth over the years, and we are thrilled about adding them to our team,” said Matt Lewis, President of Congruity.

G2 Capital Advisors served as exclusive buy-side advisor to Congruity in the successful transaction. Congruity has been a portfolio company of RFE Investment Partners since 2021.

About CongruityHR
CongruityHR is a Human Resource outsourcing company providing HR, compliance, payroll, tax administration, employee benefits, and workers’ compensation and safety services to small and medium-sized businesses predominately in the southeastern U.S. via a professional employer organization (PEO) and administrative services organization (ASO) model. Visit www.congruityhr.com.

About JanusHR
A Tampa-based PEO, JanusHR provides comprehensive, personalized HR services for small to medium-sized businesses across Florida. For more information, visit www.wesolvehr.com.

About RFE Investment Partners
RFE Investment Partners is a private equity firm focused on making control investments in established small market companies located in the U.S. RFE is a long-standing firm founded in 1980 with over 40 years of experience investing in the lower middle market. RFE’s investment strategy is to transform its portfolio companies from the lower end of the market to fully professionalized and market-leading middle-market companies. RFE is currently investing out of Fund IX. For more information, visit www.rfeip.com.

About G2 Capital Advisors
G2 Capital Advisors provides M&A, capital markets, and restructuring advisory services to the middle market. G2 offers integrated, multi-product, and sector-focused services by pairing highly experienced C-level executives with specialist investment bankers. G2 aspires to be the trusted advisor of choice to our clients including corporations and institutional investors. For more information, visit https://g2capitaladvisors.com.

CHICAGO, IL and PLYMOUTH, MN (April 18, 2023) – Chicago-based Sales Empowerment Group (“SEG”), a highly-recognized outsourced sales and marketing consulting firm, announced today it has acquired Minnesota-based Action Selling, an award-winning sales training company.

Founded in 1990 by Duane Sparks, who authored the productivity-focused training program, Action Selling has trained, assessed and certified over 500,000 salespeople. Over the past decade, Action Selling has been consistently recognized as a Top 20 / 25 Sales Training Company by Training Industry, the most trusted source of information on the business of learning and SellingPower.com, the leading digital magazine for sales managers and sales VPs.

The combination of SEG and Action Selling provides clients a comprehensive suite of solutions across the entire revenue function: SEG, with core competencies in virtual sales teams, consulting services, sales playbooks, sales assessments and a proprietary technology platform, and Action Selling, with its tried and true, multi-program sales training platform.

“SEG has always been dedicated to the training space for junior talent, and now we have a world-class sales training program to expand training to all aspects of the sales lifecycle and our clients’ sales teams,” said Brian O’Neil, CEO of Sales Empowerment Group. “Action Selling’s methodology and training program is second to none and we are excited to join forces to help our clients drive even stronger results.”

“SEG is the perfect complement to Action Selling’s robust sales training program,” said Eric Moore, President of Action Selling. “The unified platform creates immediate opportunities to strengthen our clients’ sales teams and further position them to win new business.”

Houlihan Lokey served as exclusive financial advisor to SEG, a portfolio company of RFE Investment Partners. Woodbridge International served as exclusive sell-side M&A advisor to Action Selling.

About Sales Empowerment Group:

SEG is a sales and marketing consulting firm providing services that drive revenue growth. The company uses a strategic, time-tested approach, and works with its clients to create a sales-focused culture that helps grow revenue faster. SEG serves a variety of middle-market and larger companies in manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, technology, professional services, and other sectors. For more information, visit www.salesempowermentgroup.com.

About Action Selling:

Founded in 1990 by Duane Sparks, Action Selling has trained, assessed and certified over 500,000 salespeople in over 4,000 companies across every industry. The company offers research-driven sales and leadership training through its proprietary-owned and trademarked learning management technology system and face-to-face with its in-person workshops. For more information, visit www.actionselling.com.

About RFE Investment Partners:
RFE Investment Partners is a private equity firm focused on making control investments in established small market companies located in the United States. RFE is a long-standing firm founded in 1980 with over 40 years of experience investing in the lower middle market. RFE’s investment strategy is to transform its portfolio companies from the lower end of the market to fully professionalized and market-leading middle-market companies. RFE is currently investing out of Fund IX.

Move Expands Residential Inspector of America’s Atlanta Metropolitan Area Presence

AUSTIN, TX (May 17, 2023) – LaunchPad Home Group (“LaunchPad”), the nation’s premier provider of home inspection and residential services, announced today that its subsidiary Residential Inspector of America (“RIA”) has acquired Discovery Inspections (“Discovery”) of Fayetteville, GA.

Serving the Fayetteville and surrounding areas for the past 25 years, Discovery’s decades of experience and attention to customer care has led it to become the leader in its core markets for residential inspection services.

“Our recent partnership with LaunchPad and Residential Inspector of America is already showing tremendous benefits to our clients and referral sources alike,” said Discovery’s owner Gary Sloan. “We now cover a much larger area of Atlanta, have more available inspection time slots, and additional inspection services. Our common business cultures, deep inspection experience, and commitment to a positive customer experience have been key elements in this smooth transition.”

Scott Swayze, CEO for LaunchPad, said: “We are excited to partner with Gary and Kay Sloan and welcome the crew from Discovery to join our team. Discovery has built a customer centric culture and the team will fit well with RIA’s growth focused mentality.”

Residential Inspector of America (RIA) RIA is the largest and most prominent home inspection provider in the Atlanta area, while PestNation provides a full breadth of pest control and extermination services. Founded in 1989, RIA has developed a culture built on a growth mindset focused on technical excellence and exceptional client service. Over the past several years, RIA has partnered with three inspection companies in Nashville (API), Charleston (SBS), and Jacksonville (HPI) to expand its services in these markets and broaden its geographic reach.

About LaunchPad Home Group
LaunchPad Home Group is a family of regional home inspection and services brands sharing relationships, support systems, best practices, and capital base for the mutual growth of our brands.  LaunchPad’s mission is to create lifelong relationships by simplifying home ownership at every stage of the journey, from inspections to remodeling to day-to-day safekeeping and maintenance. For more information, visit www.launchpadhomegroup.com.

Today, with the help of private equity investor RFE Investment Partners, LaunchPad is the fastest growing residential inspection company in the US and provides a full suite of services to assist customers in their home ownership journey.

AUSTIN, TX (July 26, 2023) – LaunchPad Home Group (“LaunchPad”), the nation’s premier provider of home inspection and residential services, announced today that its subsidiary Residential Inspector of America (“RIA”) has acquired Nashville Home Inspection (“NHI”) of Nashville, TN. NHI has served residents and prospective homeowners in the greater Nashville community since 1999, becoming a leader in residential and ancillary inspection services in middle Tennessee.

“We are excited to join the fastest growing residential inspection company in the United States,” said NHI founders and owners John and Joan Watkins. “The partnership adds scale to our existing operations and will allow us to better serve the broader Nashville community.”

“NHI has been a staple in the Nashville community for over 23 years and we are thrilled to welcome them to the team,” said Rob Lemoine of RIA. “The NHI team is a fantastic culture fit with RIA and our existing operations in the Nashville region.” Scott Swayze, CEO for LaunchPad, said: “John and Joan Watkins have built a fundamentally sound business and we are delighted to welcome the full NHI team as partners in the LaunchPad ecosystem.”

Residential Inspector of America (RIA)
RIA is the largest and most prominent home inspection provider in the Atlanta area, while PestNation provides a full breadth of pest control and extermination services. Founded in 1989, RIA has developed a culture built on a growth mindset focused on technical excellence and exceptional client service. Over the past several years, RIA has partnered with three inspection companies in Nashville (API and NHI), Charleston (SBS), and Jacksonville (HPI) to expand its services in these markets and broaden its geographic reach.

About LaunchPad Home Group
LaunchPad Home Group is a family of regional home inspection and services brands sharing relationships, support systems, best practices, and capital base for the mutual growth of our brands.  LaunchPad’s mission is to create lifelong relationships by simplifying home ownership at every stage of the journey, from inspections to remodeling to day-to-day safekeeping and maintenance. For more information, visit www.launchpadhomegroup.com.

Today, with the help of private equity investor RFE Investment Partners, LaunchPad is the fastest growing residential inspection company in the US and provides a full suite of services to assist customers in their home ownership journey.