Private equity firm Thomas H Lee Partners (THL) is making a significant investment in System One, a provider of workforce solutions and integrated services.
The investment proceeds will be used to purchase the interests of middle market private equity firm MidOcean Partners, System One’s current investment partner, which invested in the company in December 2012. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, System One is one of the largest professional staffing firms in the US with over 6,000 employees serving the diversified engineering, clinical/scientific, IT, and legal markets. System One offers a full suite of specialty workforce solutions and integrated services focused on mission-critical, recurring human capital solutions, such as testing and inspection, non-destructive testing, staff augmentation, legal process outsourcing and eDiscovery, recruiting services, managed service provider (MSP) services, and vendor management services (VMS).
“We have very much enjoyed the backing by MidOcean, whose deep industry expertise and relationships have helped us significantly expand our service offerings and client base,” says Troy Gregory, chief executive officer of System One. “As we enter the next phase of our growth, we are thrilled to announce our new partnership with THL, who as seasoned investors in our industry, share System One’s commitment to our customers, and have the experience and resources to support our efforts to expand our share in key markets.”
“System One is a leader in the professional staffing industry, and Troy, COO Greg Lignelli, and their entire team have built a fantastic company that serves a variety of markets and offers a robust array of specialized, mission-critical workforce solutions,” says Josh Bresler, managing director at THL. “System One’s excellent track record of growth, highly skilled employees, attractive end markets, and history of developing strong customer relationships make this an exciting investment opportunity for THL. We look forward to providing our additional resources and expertise, as we partner with the System One team to propel the company’s continued growth and success.”
Elias Dokas, managing director at MidOcean, says: “Since we first invested in System One four years ago, the company has realised exceptional growth – organically and through the completion of four add-on acquisitions – nearly tripling EBITDA during this period. It has been a pleasure working with Troy and the talented System One team and we are confident that the company is poised for continued success with THL.”
