Bertram Capital Secures New Platform with Investment in BearCom

Firm Partners with Management of Communications Solutions Provider to Fuel Continued Expansion

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Jul 10, 2018, 08:00 ET

SAN MATEO, Calif., July 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Bertram Capital ("Bertram") announced today that it has partnered with the executive management team to acquire Garland, Texas-based BearCom from LKCM Headwater Investments. Founded in 1981, BearCom is a leading value-added distributor of mission and business-critical communications solutions, having served over 20,000 commercial, industrial and government customers across North America. The investment in BearCom represents the fifth platform acquisition completed in Bertram's recently-closed third fund. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

"BearCom services an increasingly critical role in providing cost-effective communication solutions to improve productivity, safety and security both in and outside of the workplace," said Jeff Drazan, Managing Partner of Bertram Capital. "Land Mobile Radio (LMR) is the technology of choice for urgent, mission and business-critical communications, and BearCom is the industry leader in providing those capabilities across multiple vertical markets. We look forward to continuing to build upon BearCom's already impressive capabilities with Bertram Labs. Our Business Services team, led by Jared Ruger, Alex Goldscher and Sean Houseworth, did a tremendous job securing a portfolio company that squarely aligns with our investment strategy."

BearCom's senior leadership team, in conjunction with Bertram, will continue to pursue its buy-and-build strategy of acquiring similar businesses with strong technical services capabilities and entrenched customer relationships in complementary geographies. The team is especially excited by the opportunity to accelerate organic growth and enhance customer service by leveraging Bertram Labs, Bertram's proprietary in-house digital marketing and software development team.

"As we considered potential partners, Bertram really stood out in what they bring to the table", said BearCom CEO Mark Kroh. "Extensive telecommunications and technology market expertise, coupled with a shared vision for the opportunities to expand BearCom's business, made Bertram our preferred choice. We have already begun to engage with the Bertram Labs team and believe their capabilities will be highly beneficial to our business across multiple functions."

BearCom is well-positioned to serve the evolving communication needs of commercial and industrial customers by delivering a comprehensive offering of sales, service and rental solutions throughout its extensive operating footprint. With 53 branch locations across the USA and Canada, BearCom is unique in its ability to serve and support customers on both a local and national level.

"We have been extremely impressed with the duration and diversity of BearCom's tenured customer relationships that include airlines, education, manufacturing and petrochemical plants, distribution centers, hotels, public safety agencies, retailers and many other industry segments," said Jared Ruger, Partner at Bertram. "We are excited to work with an exceptional management team to harness the breadth of BearCom's resources to deliver strong value for customers and expand market share for key partners like Motorola Solutions, Inc. We would like to recognize the teams at BlackArch, Hirschler Fleischer and Moore & Van Allen for their efforts in closing this transaction and making this partnership possible."

About Bertram Capital

Bertram Capital is a private equity firm with over $1.4 billion in committed capital targeting investments in lower middle market companies. In addition to supplying strategic growth capital, Bertram Capital leverages proprietary processes and services, Bertram High-5^SM and Bertram Labs, to empower its portfolio companies to unlock their full business potential. The Bertram High-5^SM is an operationally-focused value creation strategy, which includes management augmentation, operational initiative implementation, complimentary business acquisition, sales and marketing improvements and leveraging technology and IP. The cornerstone of this strategy is Bertram Labs, its in-house technology team, which drives growth and value through digital marketing, e-commerce, big data and analytics, application development and internal and external platform optimization. Visit www.bertramcapital.com for more information.

SOURCE Bertram Capital