French investment company
Wendel has acquired Milwaukee-based Crisis Prevention Institute from
FFL Partners in a deal that gives CPI an enterprise value of $910 million on an enterprise value basis.
As part of the transaction, Wendel made an equity investment of approximately $569 million for a 96% ownership interest in the company, alongside CPI’s management team and other minority investors, according to a press release.
CPI also recently closed on an approximately $77 million round of funding, which was backed by 11 investors, according to a Jan. 6 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
The Antares Bain Capital Complete Financing Solution, a joint venture between Antares and Bain Capital Credit
, and Macquarie Capital Principal Finance’s Direct Lending business, provided $355 million in acquisition financing to CPI to support the transaction
The deal was originally announced in October and was completed by Dec. 23.
The funding round, which came after the sale of the company, was an opportunity for additional investors to invest in the company, said Tony Jace, CPI chief executive officer.
“The (Wendel) family owns a vast amount of CPI so they injected a lot of equity, but they also wanted to open a small window for outside investors to participate as well,” Jace said.
Crisis Prevention Institute offers training in de-escalation of aggressive behaviors and nonviolent physical intervention out of its Milwaukee headquarters. The company also provides training and consultation for therapeutic dementia care.
“The company has a long track record of growth under the leadership of Tony Jace, and we think CPI has a substantially larger opportunity to expand into other industries and geographies that can benefit from its programs,” Adam Reinmann, CEO of Wendel North America said in a statement.
Approximately 1.4 million people go through CPI training each year. Its strategies are put to use in health care, education and corporate environments. More than 15 million human service professionals from around the world have been trained at CPI in safely resolving situations in which those in their care display anxious, hostile or violent behavior.
Wendel is a holding company that was founded in the Lorraine region of eastern France in 1704. Wendel developed as a private equity company in the steel industry before turning its focus to long-term investing, according to the company’s website.
In 2016, FFL Partners
purchased CPI from Boca Raton, Florida-based private equity firm
Brockway Moran & Partners Inc. Terms of that deal were not disclosed.
Shortly after the 2019 acquisition, CPI switched floors in its building, increasing its office space by 18,000 square-feet, Jace said. CPI has a total of 325 employees across the globe with 230 employees at the Milwaukee headquarters, located at 10850 W. Park Place Suite #250.
The company has three offices in the United Kingdom, another in Sydney, Australia and a third in North Carolina. CPI also owns a 75,000 square-foot warehouse at 11715 W. Bradley Road where it stores training material.
Jace said CPI has grown by double digits each year, not only in revenue but also in the amount of people trained. The growth is rooted in an increase in behavioral, mental health issues, anxiety, stress and complex situations in society, added Heidi Skinner, CPI marketing vice president.
“That’s why private equity has been so aggressive in buying us,” Jace said. “Because they know there’s a large growth trajectory to our business. There’s an incredibly large total addressable market for the type of training support that we provide.”
