Birmingham-based Soaring Pine Capital’s Growth Fund 1 has purchased Technology Solutions Inc., a Chicago-based provider of fulfillment and construction services to operators of cable or direct-broadcast satellite television systems. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Soaring Pine — a Simon Group Holdings company along with Atlas Oil Co., Fast Track Ventures, and Vixta Solutions — funded the transaction through a combination of equity, mezzanine, and senior debt, along with equity from management and seller rollover equity.
Technology Solutions will become a holding company called Tikoo Solutions and will be owned by Soaring Pine Capital Growth Fund 1, its management team, and John Urso, the founder of Technology Solutions. Technology Solutions provides fulfillment and construction services to major multiple system operators throughout the U.S., and currently is working in 12 states.
“The cable industry is undergoing dramatic changes with cable operators projected to spend billions in the next five years on infrastructure upgrades,” says Jerry McCoy, a cable industry veteran who will serve as CEO of the newly formed entity. “In addition, cable operators are relying more heavily on third-party field services (outsourcing) which provides a great opportunity for growth for companies like Technology Solutions.”
McCoy says working with Urso, the new team will expand the company’s footprint and branch out into new service lines.
“We will build out infrastructure to support the multi-family market as a private cable operator in urban areas,” says Bill Fenton, COO of the new entity. “This is an underserved market that allows the new company to provide affordable Internet to lower income households.”
Soaring Pine Capital is focused on investment opportunities in lower middle-market companies located in the Midwest, along with a variety of real estate assets.
