GREENWICH, CT, May 19, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fifth Street Asset Management Inc. (NASDAQ:FSAM) ("FSAM") today announced that its affiliate, Fifth Street Management LLC, served as Administrative Agent and Lead Arranger for a $171 million one-stop financing facility to support LegalZoom.com, Inc. ("LegalZoom"). LegalZoom is the nation's leading provider of quality online legal solutions for families and small businesses. The financing facility, which consists of a first lien term loan and a revolving credit facility, includes investments from Fifth Street Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:FSC) and Fifth Street Senior Floating Rate Corp. (NASDAQ:FSFR). The terms include the ability to access an additional $75 million over and above the $171 million to fund future acquisitions.
A company backed by the Permira funds became LegalZoom's largest shareholder in February 2014 through an investment of more than $200 million. Permira is a global private equity firm that advises funds with approximately €25 billion in total committed capital, specializing in five key sectors: Consumer, Financial Services, Healthcare, Industrials and Technology. LegalZoom represents the Fifth Street platform's fifth financing in support of a Permira funds-owned company and the fourth in the last twelve months alone. Particularly of note during this time, Fifth Street provided a $110 million one-stop financing facility in connection with the acquisition of software company Metalogix H&S Holdings, Ltd. in December.
"Fifth Street continues to be a strong relationship for our firm, with deep software industry expertise and comprehensive financing solutions that offer certainty and efficiency to our transaction process," said Nic Volpi, a Partner at Permira, adding, "LegalZoom is the clear leader in the huge untapped market for small business and family law, and we believe Fifth Street is the ideal lending partner to help support the company through its next chapter of growth."
"With its trusted brand, passionate team and cutting edge technology, LegalZoom continues to transform the legal industry by offering millions of Americans access to smart, cost-effective legal protection," noted Ivelin M. Dimitrov, FSAM's Chief Investment Officer, adding, "We are proud to support the Permira funds and LegalZoom on this transaction and in the future as they continue to expand their product offerings and geographic reach."
"LegalZoom funded its growth over the last 14 years from a single angel round of $1 million and internal operating cashflow," said John Suh, CEO of LegalZoom, adding, "As we expand in the U.S. and abroad, the combined resources of the Permira funds and Fifth Street will help deliver access to capital commensurate with the opportunity to reshape the delivery of legal services."
About Fifth Street Asset Management Inc.
Fifth Street Asset Management Inc. (NASDAQ:FSAM) is a growing credit-focused asset manager. The firm has over $6 billion of assets under management across two publicly-traded business development companies, Fifth Street Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:FSC) and Fifth Street Senior Floating Rate Corp. (NASDAQ:FSFR), as well as multiple private investment vehicles. The Fifth Street platform provides innovative and customized financing solutions to small and mid-sized businesses across the capital structure through complementary investment vehicles and co-investment capabilities. With a 17-year track record focused on disciplined credit investing across multiple economic cycles, Fifth Street is led by a seasoned management team that has issued billions of dollars in public equity, private capital and public debt securities. Fifth Street's national origination strategy, proven track record and established platform are supported by approximately 100 professionals across locations in Greenwich, Chicago, Palo Alto and Dallas. For more information, please visit fsam.fifthstreetfinance.com.
About Permira
Permira is an international private equity firm. The Permira funds, raised from pension funds and other institutions, make long-term investments in companies with the ambition of transforming their performance and driving sustainable growth. Founded in 1985, the firm advises funds with a total committed capital of approximately €25 billion and has made over 200 private equity investments in five key sectors - Consumer, Financial Services, Healthcare, Industrials and Technology. Permira employs over 200 people in 14 offices globally.
Permira established itself in North America in 2002 and today has offices in New York and Menlo Park. The Permira funds have a long track record of successfully investing in technology companies around the world including Metalogix, TeamViewer, LegalZoom.com, Inc., Ancestry.com, NDS, Renaissance Learning, Genesys and pending completion Informatica. Since 1997, over a third of the Permira funds' investments have been in the core Technology sector.
About LegalZoom
LegalZoom is the nation's leading provider of quality online legal solutions for families and small businesses. Founded 14 years ago by attorneys with experience at some of the top law firms in the country, LegalZoom has helped over two million Americans become protected with binding legal documents. Although LegalZoom is not a law firm, it can help people access an attorney through its legal plans. The company has offices in Austin, TX, Glendale, CA, Mountain View, CA and London, UK. For more information, visit www.legalzoom.com.
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