NEWS & UPDATES
Houlihan Smith Arranges $1.25 million Venture Debt Facility for PerceptIS, LLC.
CHICAGO, IL/Cleveland, OH (April 2008) Houlihan Smith & Company, Inc. ("Houlihan") acted as exclusive financial advisor and placement agent in arranging a $1.25 million venture debt facility for its client, PerceptIS, LLC. ("PerceptIS"), as announced today by Charles Botchway, Group Managing Director. The venture debt facility was provided by Oregon based Vencore Solutions LLC ("Vencore"). Bob Susskind, Managing Director at Houlihan noted: "2008 began with a boom for PerceptIS, and continues to be a record-breaking year. With present growth needs covered by Vencore, our focus at Houlihan Smith is to establish a significant alliance for PerceptIS with a leading venture capital fund. Working with the PerceptIS management team is a true pleasure, and Vencore has been the same."
PerceptIS is a privately held Cleveland based firm providing help desk, call center and information technology services to the higher education, not-for-profit and commercial markets. Founded in 2002, it has grown rapidly from a standing start to servicing more than 50 clients and employing more than 100 full time employees. PerceptIS operates IP based call centers in Cleveland and Phoenix and currently supports over 800,000 end users with technical help desk services. At the core of its culture is the creation of information technology jobs in the communities it serves. Bill Bradfield, Chief Executive Officer at PerceptIS commented on the fund raising process: "PerceptIS is a fast growing and lean company. When we decided to fuel our rapid growth, the team at Houlihan Smith was a perfect fit for us. They provided the expertise and did a lot of heavy lifting throughout our capital raise. From planning to positioning through presentation to closure they were there with guidance, insight and effort. It's been a great experience and we've built a solid relationship with them. Ultimately, the choice to partner with Vencore was a perfect match. They understand our business model and needs and are very easy to work with. They have taken an active interest in our success and we are already reaping benefits from suggestions and introductions they have made. Their investment in us will fuel our growth and help us reach our goals."
Vencore was founded by entrepreneurs who have served emerging-growth companies with venture debt financing for the past 20 years. Vencore distinguishes itself from other lenders by its commitment to provide capital earlier in a company's lifecycle — prior to traditional venture-capital financing — and through its willingness to do smaller deals with more flexible structures and pricing. Their approach is to match the size, structure and pricing to the clients' risk profiles. Joe Flynn, Managing Director at Vencore reflected: "Vencore is very excited about its debt investment in PerceptIS. The financing provides the necessary resources to continue its strong growth trends, add key sales and support personnel, and improve online product features and reporting. PerceptIS is spearheaded by a seasoned management team, which has built a scalable and flexible platform. The Company is addressing a large and growing need in the higher education market. In addition, the platform will enable PerceptIS, over time, to address other key vertical markets with the same success. Houlihan Smith was an excellent partner during the entire process. They provided guidance and support and were instrumental in the expeditious closing."
Houlihan is an investment banking firm that provides advisory, mergers and acquisition, corporate finance, valuation, fairness and solvency opinion services to public and private companies. Houlihan is a registered broker-dealer and FINRA/SIPC Member.
Houlihan understands the time sensitivity of corporate finance and is able to respond quickly and tenaciously to opportunities. The Houlihan approach creates corporate finance transactions in which both business owners and investors mutually benefit. Houlihan has the knowledge, experience and relationships to match buyers and sellers, as well as to match the appropriate financing and capitalization structure to each unique client situation. The Houlihan name is synonymous with professional financial expertise. The company provides cost-effective fairness and solvency opinions, in addition to valuations for tax and financial reporting, to some of the largest NYSE/NASDAQ companies, as well as small, privately-held businesses.