Kingswood Capital Management acquired Support Services Group (SSG), a provider of global omnichannel contact center solutions. SSG’s founding ownership group will continue post-transaction as minority owners of the company.
Through a differentiated global footprint of 20 facilities in 10 countries and with more than 10,000 skilled agents, SSG has experienced strong growth through its ability to offer tailored solutions for customer care, sales support and technical support through an omnichannel approach supporting voice, email, social media and chat. Headquartered in Waco, TX and founded in 1998, the company’s fifteen acquisitions over the last decade have provided SSG with a unique facility footprint and diverse client base, driving an acceleration of growth and industry recognition in recent years (including 14 Stevie awards in 2022 alone).
Cerberus Business Finance provided debt financing for the acquisition. Configure Partners, Kirkland & Ellis, BCS Consulting and Services, and Robert W. Baird & Co. advised Kingswood on the transaction. Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough advised SSG on the transaction.
“We are thrilled by the opportunity to partner with SSG’s management team and founding ownership group to support the business in its mission to continue providing the excellent service and solutions SSG’s clients have grown to trust,” Andrew Kovach, principal of Kingswood, said. “There are numerous industry tailwinds that will continue to drive the need for SSG’s tailored customer experience solutions. When coupled with the company’s world-class management team and differentiated technology, service and locations, we believe SSG is poised to grow to the next level in its company lifecycle.”
“We are very excited about the long-term upside from the partnership with Kingswood, as well as the near-term opportunities that are currently in front of us,” Bryan Gross, global CEO of SSG, said. “We were looking for a partner who would put our employees and customers first, bring operational and strategic value-add all while having a proven track record in business services; Kingswood checked all those boxes. With this new partnership, we are highly confident that we will be able to continue delivering industry leading service capabilities while preserving the fantastic culture that we’ve built here at SSG. We are very excited to take the Company to the next level.”
“In an industry such as business services, people truly do come first and we are honored to partner with Bryan and the rest of the management team, as well as the founding ownership group,” Alex Wolf, managing partner of Kingswood, said. “Their trust in Kingswood strengthens my confidence in the franchise we are building and reputation as the preferred partner for owner-operated businesses in the lower middle market, particularly with another investment in the business services space following our successful investment in Senture. We couldn’t be more excited to get to work with the management team at SSG in continuing to grow and improve what is already a fantastic business.”
