Endicott Growth Equity Partners, L.P. completes acquisition of majority stake in Information Clearinghouse Inc. and Market Service Inc., leading providers of data and analytics on the retail sector

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Dec 21, 2021, 07:00 ET

NEW YORK, Dec. 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Endicott Growth Equity Partners, L.P. ("Endicott") announced today that it has acquired a majority stake in Information Clearinghouse Inc. and Market Service Inc., home to the Creditntell, F&D Reports, ARMS and AggData brands (collectively "the Company"). Founded in 1957 and headquartered in Great Neck, N.Y., the Company provides comprehensive, timely, and critical data and insights on retailers and the real estate they occupy. Lawrence Sarf, Founder and CEO of the Company, will remain a significant owner and serve on the Company's board. The current executive management team will continue to run day-to-day operations. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Information Clearinghouse and Market Service are the leading providers of financial, credit, and geospatial intelligence to a diverse set of customer segments, including consumer product companies, retailers, retail real estate owners and investors, and lenders. The well-established financial intelligence products facilitate credit decisions across the retail ecosystem and deliver research, analytics, and insights on hundreds of public and private retailers, all generated by an experienced, sector-focused analyst team. The more recently launched geospatial intelligence products seamlessly combine millions of up-to-date retail locations, foot-traffic data, demographics, and proprietary algorithms to generate powerful analytics and insights at the shopping center and individual storefront levels. Together, these services offer clients a 360-degree view of retailer and retail real estate performance and opportunity, essential given the rapidly changing and intertwined $4T U.S. retail and $2.5T retail real estate sectors.

Lawrence Sarf, Founder and CEO of the Company, said, "We chose to partner with Endicott because of their deep data and analytics expertise, relevant operational experience, and partnership approach. Our team has built a strong, growing business over several decades and we are now poised to scale up. Endicott understands our opportunities and challenges well, and our entire management team is excited to work with them to accelerate our growth plan and deliver exceptional value to our clients."

Will Pappas, Endicott Partner, shared, "We congratulate Larry and the entire Information Clearinghouse and Market Service team. Through 50+ years of hard work and a commitment to clients, Larry has built a unique business grounded in retail sector expertise and product innovation. Within the retail real estate and consumer products industries, the Company is known as the "must-have" resource for credit and real estate location decision-making. The retail sector is experiencing unprecedented change, and the Company is well-positioned to deliver powerful analytical solutions that enable clients to navigate the present and future. We are thrilled to partner with the team on the next phase of their growth journey."

Raymond James served as financial advisor and Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg Atlas LLP served as legal advisor to Information Clearinghouse. Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor and Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi PC served as legal advisor to Endicott Growth Equity Partners, L.P.

About Information Clearinghouse and Market Service

Information Clearinghouse and Market Service are experts in the retail sector and serve their clients through the following products: Creditntell, F&D Reports, ARMS, AggData, Real Estate Intelligence, Retail Openings and Closings, and Thasos. For more information: www.creditntell.com, www.fdreports.com and www.fdarms.com.

About Endicott Group and Endicott Growth Equity Partners

Founded in 1996, Endicott Group is a New York–based investment firm with deep private equity experience. Through Endicott Growth Equity Partners, L.P. ("EGEP"), the firm invests exclusively in technology-enabled, B2B companies providing critical data and analytics to a wide range of sectors and end-markets. A value-added investor, EGEP brings considerable expertise to the information services sector and partners with management teams and other shareholders to build strong companies that realize their growth potential and maximize value. For more information: www.endicottgp.com.

Tara Slone
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SOURCE Endicott Group