Business Owners who have ambitions to build their business with a long term mindset have used Alaris to help fund their continuing growth. Alaris provides continuous access to equity capital and a partner that doesn’t have a time horizon. This encourages Business Owners to make long term decisions while providing them with more of the upside that they would achieve under a traditional PE relationship.
C&C Communications
C&C Communications
Case Study
Description
Situation
Outcome
LifeMark Health
LifeMark Health
Case Study
Description
2004
CAD$67.5M (7 tranches)
National physiotherapy services.
Situation
Alaris backed an impressive management team who also contributed significant equity to help align interests. Management had laid out a growth through acquisition strategy for physiotherapy clinics in the heavily fragmented industry across Canada. Management believed that they could use Alaris’ non-control preferred equity alongside senior debt and cash from operations to accretively fund acquisitions of clinics.
Outcome
Alaris provided an initial investment to help finance a management buyout of Lifemark.
Throughout the next seven years, Alaris provided six follow-on investments that were utilized together with senior debt to provide management with the capital needed to grow their business from 35 locations to over 100.
In June 2011, Lifemark was acquired by Centric Health in which Alaris rolled a portion of is preferred equity investment to help facilitate the transaction. Alaris’ remaining financial interest was sold in 2016 closing out a 12 year investment.
MAHC
MAHC
Case Study
Description
2016
US$22.0M
Full service marketing and advertising agency.
Situation
Outcome
Planet Fitness Growth Partners (PFGP)
Planet Fitness Growth Partners (PFGP)
Case Study
Description
2014
US$40.0M (2 tranches)
Leading franchisee of Planet Fitness® health clubs.
Situation
PFGP was looking for capital to expand their business, and to provide a partial liquidity event for certain equity holders.
Outcome
PFGP has been able to increase the number of clubs from 15 to over 50 today, and continues to grow. This has increased the economic interests of PFGP equity holders substantially.
Alaris' business model was exactly what we were looking for in an investor. We wanted capital to help us grow our business while still maintaining control. Alaris is allowing us to do that."
– Victor Brick, CEO, Planet Fitness
Sandbox
Sandbox
Case Study
Description
2016
US$28.0M
Full service marketing and advertising agency.
Situation
The management group at Sandbox had been executing a strategy to acquire regional marketing communication companies that complement the agency’s current operations, which will further diversify the existing client base, skill set, and industry experience.
As the company looked to continue to execute upon this business model, they were in search for a capital partner who shared their long-term vision to build out a world class marketing and advertising agency at a pace that made sense for the long-term health of the business.
Outcome
Alaris’ first investment in Sandbox allowed the company to recapitalize its balance sheet and set the company up with access to further capital to fund its growth strategy.
Sandbox management has the ability to continue to grow their business via acquisition knowing they have a long-term capital partner in Alaris who can help fund that growth for an indefinite time period. This has already proven valuable as Alaris has provided a second tranche to fund an acquisition for Sandbox.
At the same time, the culture instilled in the business was preserved which was paramount to the success of the business plan.
Sequel Youth and Family Services
Sequel Youth and Family Services
Case Study
Description
2013
US$73.5M (2 tranches)
Premier national provider of diversified behavioral health services.
Situation
Sequel was seeking a new financial partner to take out its existing equity sponsor and some other equity holders and to provide capital to continue growing our company. Sequel was looking for a partner that wasn’t dictating an exit time line.
Outcome
“The financial architecture with Alaris provided was a wonderful solution because it 1) provides for an increasing share of the enterprise value of the company to common shareholders as as grew, 2) is permanent capital since it did not require us to sell or refinance at any point in the future, and 3) allowed us to retain control over the operations of the company.
Plus the folks at Alaris are great people and fantastic to work with.”
– Jay Ripley, Co-Founder & Chairman, Sequel Youth & Family Services
Solowave
Solowave
Case Study
Description
2010
$42.5 (2 tranches)
Leading designer and manufacturer of wooden outdoor active play and modular structures.
Situation
The Solowave team had spent years building a high quality business in a very niche sector of the wooden outdoor play space.
The founders were seeking a partner that could facilitate a liquidity event for certain equity holders and execute on their growth strategy, and also allow management to maintain control over operations. Maintaining the culture that they had established was a key to the owners.
Outcome
Alaris’ original investment provided a dividend recap for the common equity holders of the business and was followed by a subsequent second tranche of Alaris capital to help fund a new division of the business.
In September of 2016 the common equity holders sold the business which saw Alaris sell its preferred equity units along side the common equity holders. Due to the collar on the growth participation of Alaris’ distribution, the common equity holders were able to experience a much more beneficial portion of the sale proceeds then they would have if they had sold their common equity in the original liquidity transaction 5 years prior.