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Diamond Castle Holdings to Acquire PRC from IAC/InterActiveCorp |
IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) and Diamond Castle Holdings, LLC, a New York-based private equity firm, announced today that an agreement has been reached for an entity owned by Diamond Castle and PRC management to acquire PRC, LLC, a leader in customer relationship management services. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
PRC provides the strategic execution of sales and customer management services to many of the world's premier brand-focused corporations through a global network of 32 contact centers, supporting clients through the processes of targeting, acquiring, growing, and retaining customers. Under the new ownership structure, PRC's management team will remain in place following the transaction, with John G. Hall continuing in his role as Chief Executive Officer. Joseph Livingston, PRC's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, will serve as President and Chief Operating Officer of PRC upon completion of the transaction. Lori Sprague will continue to report to Mr. Hall as the Executive Vice President of PRC's Business-to-Business division.
"With the support of IAC, the strength of our client relationships and the dedication of our employees, PRC has grown approximately 40% faster than our industry over the past two years," said Mr. Hall. "Our management team is extremely pleased with the opportunity to continue to deliver a positive return on our clients' investment in their customers, in partnership with Diamond Castle. Diamond Castle is very well positioned to support our growth, with significant access to capital, transaction expertise and experienced principals."
Mr. Livingston added, "In the past 18 months, we've opened 6 new domestic centers to complement our expanded operations offshore. I am confident in PRC's ability to accelerate the momentum of our impressive growth under our new owners as we expand and grow our client relationships."
"The sale of PRC to Diamond Castle better positions PRC for continued success, providing a strong foundation for future growth," said Doug Lebda, President and Chief Operating Officer of IAC.
PRC is a market leader in managing and building customer relationships and is well positioned to benefit from the attractive fundamentals in the outsourced customer care and sales and marketing sectors of the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.
"Having been a major customer of outsourced services at both Bank of America and AT&T, I believe PRC is particularly attuned to its clients' needs," said Gene Lockhart, Partner, Diamond Castle Holdings. Mr. Lockhart was previously CEO of MasterCard, President of the Global Retail Bank at Bank of America, and President of Consumer Services at AT&T. "PRC has an exceptionally strong and experienced management team that has developed long-standing relationships with an impressive group of blue-chip clients. We are extremely confident in management's ability to continue to grow the business," Mr. Lockhart added.
IAC was advised on the transaction by Lehman Brothers. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2006.
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About Diamond Castle Holdings, LLC
Diamond Castle Holdings, LLC is a private equity investment firm founded in 2004 by Larry Schloss, the former Global Head of CSFB Private Equity and Chairman of DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, and four former managing directors of DLJ Merchant Banking. Diamond Castle has 22 employees located in New York and focuses on investments in the power, financial services, media and telecom, healthcare, and industrial sectors. For more information on Diamond Castle Holdings, please visit our website at http://www.dchold.com. |
