Brockway sees 8x return on Crisis Prevention exit to FFL

Brockway Moran & Partners expects to generate more than an 8x return on its pending sale of Crisis Prevention Institute to FFL Partners, according to a source familiar with the firm.

A spokesman for Brockway Moran declined to comment beyond a statement on the deal for the provider of training sessions to help healthcare and education officials diffuse potentially violent situations. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

“The company has a good market position, and we were able to grow it organically by investing in the business in a number of ways,” said Peter Brockway, managing partner of Brockway Moran.

The firm worked with company CEO Anthony Jace to grow its footprint in online learning and charting ways to reach potential customers, he said. Brockway declined to comment on return figures for the deal.

Cas Schneller, partner at FFL, didn’t comment on returns for Brockway Moran or financial information on the deal. FFL had been tracking the business for some time based on its reputation and purchased it in an auction, he said.

To help grow Crisis Prevention Institute, FFL is working with Shanti Atkins, founder and executive chairman of Navex Global, now a portfolio company of Vista Equity Partners, as an adviser on the deal, Schneller said. Atkins will join the board of Crisis Prevention Institute to help it focus on its online component.

“She’ll help us quite a bit on further developing the e-learning offering,” Schneller said. “The good news is they’re just scratching the surface.”

Looking ahead, FFL sees a combination of organic growth and add-on acquisitions in the near future for Crisis Prevention Institute, he said. The firm offers rapid expansion potential in both its core education and healthcare customer base as well as new industries such as law enforcement, he said.

For Brockway Moran, the exit boosts the performance of its third private equity fund, which invested in Crisis Prevention Institute in 2011. Brockway Moran teamed with management to buy the company.

Brockway Moran drew $700 million in commitments for Fund III in 2006 but told investors in 2012 it would not raise a fourth fund.

The Boca Raton, Florida, firm has four portfolio companies remaining after the sale of Crisis Prevention Institute.

From Fund III, Brockway Moran continues to hold Winebow Group, MD Now Urgent Care and Turning Technologies. From Fund II it owns Pennant Foods.

The firm continues to actively manage and add value to its portfolio companies. In 2014, it doubled the size of its wine distributor, Vintner Group, by combining it with Winebow Inc. The combined company, Winebow Group, remains in the portfolio of both Brazos Private Equity Partners and Brockway Moran.

MD Now Urgent Care now manages 25 locations, up from six when Brockway Moran invested in it in 2012.

Fund III performance data was unavailable, but the firm’s vintage 2001 Brockway Moran & Partners Fund II rang up an IRR of 17 percent and an investment multiple of 2x as of Sept. 30, 2015, for Orange County Employees Retirement System.

Action Item: Contact Brockway Moran & Partners, http://www.brockwaymoran.com/contact-us/

A Crisis Prevention Institute training session. Photo courtesy Brockway Moran & Partners