FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 4, 2002 |
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COAMS, INC. ACQUIRES ASSETS
OF BRIDGEPOINT, A DIVISION OF CMF&Z, LLC.
New Marketing Services Company becomes wholly-owned subsidiary
of CoAMS, Inc.
CHICAGO, Ill.—October 4, 2002: On Monday, September 30, 2002,
CoAMS, Inc. ("CoAMS") of Chicago, Illinois,
a portfolio company of Prospect Partners, LLC
of Chicago, Illinois, acquired the assets
of Bridgepoint Channel Marketing Services ("Bridgepoint")
of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a division of
CMF&Z, LLC. The assets were acquired from Franklin
Capital Corp. of Chicago, Illinois ,
the secured creditor of CMF&Z. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The new company is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of CoAMS, Inc.,
and will operate under the name Bridgepoint.
CoAMS is
a full-service marketing services company specializing in the outsourced
management, administration, and design of cooperative advertising
and trade promotion programs for leading consumer product manufacturers
and their retailer networks, and to leading technology manufacturers
and their distributor/dealer organizations. CoAMS is the second
largest company in its industry, processing nearly one million claims
annually for clients that include some of the largest manufacturers
in the United States.
Bridgepoint ,
now a wholly-owned subsidiary of CoAMS, Inc., is a marketing services
firm specializing in cooperative advertising and trade promotion
programs. Bridgepoint will continue to be managed by its existent
management team and will remain at its Cedar Rapids, Iowa location.
Bridgepoint was a division of CMF&Z, LLC, an advertising and
public relations agency with offices in Center Point, Des Moines,
and Hiawatha, Iowa. CMF&Z, formerly known as Creswell, Munsell,
Fultz & Zirbel, Inc., was founded in 1939 as W.D. Lyon &
Co., and spent twenty years under the ownership of Young & Rubicam
of New York, New York.
"We are excited to get back
to our clients with invigorated resources," explained Dick Lorenz,
General Manager of Bridgepoint. "The relationship with CoAMS and
Prospect Partners will allow us to deliver top-notch marketing programs,
while retaining the personal attention that we feel is imperative
in well-servicing our clients."
"Combining CoAMS' web-based
advertising solutions with Bridgepoint's services is a real win
for our clients," added Pankaj Monga, Director of Information and
Technology for Bridgepoint. "CoAMS is on the industry forefront
of combining technology with marketing services, and now we can
offer our clients these enhanced business solutions."
"CoAMS is a recognized leader
in this industry, and bringing Bridgepoint into the fold adds to
the strength of both companies," said Louis W. Kenter, a Principal
of Prospect Partners, LLC.
"We are all looking forward
to working with Dick Lorenz and Pankaj Monga in building the new
Bridgepoint, and in continuing to seek growth opportunities for
CoAMS in the marketing services and business process outsourcing
arenas," added Erik E. Maurer, also a Principal of Prospect Partners.
Prospect Partners,
LLC of Chicago, Illinois is a $105 million private equity
fund focused on management-led leveraged acquisitions of lower middle
market companies with niche strategies. Together with management,
Prospect Partners and Caffery Capital Partners, LLC of Chicago,
Illinois acquired CoAMS in July, 2002. For CoAMS, Prospect Partners'
successful, long-term experience in building lower middle market
companies presented the ideal partner in shepherding CoAMS' growth.
For Prospect Partners, the acquisition represented a promising new
platform upon which to build a larger company. Together, Prospect
Partners and CoAMS will continue to seek to acquire other marketing
services and business process outsourcing firms.
For
more information on CoAMS, Inc., visit www.coams.com.
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