West Palm Beach, FL, October, 2012 – Comvest Partners, through its debt fund, Comvest Capital II L.P., has provided $30,000,000 in debt financing to Southern Technical Institute, Inc. (“STI” or the “Company”), in connection with its acquisition by an affiliate of New York-based private equity firm The Wicks Group of Companies, L.L.C. (“Wicks”).
Founded in 2000, STI is a family-owned and operated for-profit, vocational college with six campuses located in central Florida. The Company’s academic programs focus on career training and education in applied technology, such as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (“HVAC”) technology and electrical trade technology, medical billing and coding, medical assisting, and massage therapy. The Company currently enrolls approximately 1,000 students.
Matthew E. Gormly, III, a Managing Partner at Wicks, said “We are very excited to invest in the next stage of Southern Tech’s growth, and we think Comvest is a strong and supportive financing partner who will help make our investment a successful one. Comvest delivered an effective and thoughtful financing solution in a very compressed time frame, which enabled us to complete this acquisition efficiently.”
Comvest Partners Managing Director Dan Lee said “We are very pleased to be partnering with Wicks on Southern Technical. Given the dynamic nature of the Secondary Education space, we believe it’s critical to have the right partner. We were impressed by their diligence and structuring throughout the transaction, and appreciated their upfront approach to confronting challenges together. This marks our first transaction together, and we are thrilled to be embarking on a very productive relationship.”
About Southern Technical Institute:
Founded in 2000, Southern Technical Institute, Inc. is a family-owned and operated for-profit, vocational school with six campuses located in central Florida. Southern Tech is licensed by the Commission for Independent Education (“CIE”) in the state of Florida and is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (“ACICS”). www.southertech.edu.
About Wicks:
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. 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 both organically and through acquisitions. www.wicksgroup.com.
About Comvest:
Comvest Partners, with $1.1 billion of assets under management, provides flexible financing solutions to lower middle-market companies through its equity and debt funds, often meeting time-critical and complex funding requirements. Our firm includes seasoned, senior level operating executives who partner with managers and owners of companies to operationally improve businesses and create long-term value. Since 2000, Comvest has invested more than $1.6 billion of capital in over 110 public and private companies. www.comvest.com.