Boston, MA and Atlanta, GA -- February 24, 2006 -- Great Hill Partners announced today the acquisition of MR Default Services, a leading provider of outsourced foreclosure and bankruptcy processing services to law firms nationwide. Great Hill is the majority investor in the transaction, with the management team retaining a significant ownership position.
Dan Phelan and Penni Alper have led MR Default Services since 1992. Over the past 14 years, they have grown the business at a compound annual rate in excess of 20%. The company's proprietary technology, coupled with a talented staff, automates the administrative steps of the foreclosure and bankruptcy processes, thereby providing significant savings to the mortgage servicing community. MR Default Services counts the leading players in the mortgage servicing industry as customers.
"We are excited to partner with this management team. Dan and Penni are widely regarded as key thought-leaders in the foreclosure and bankruptcy processing industry," stated Matthew Vettel, Managing Partner of Great Hill. "They have done an astounding job building their business, and we look forward to helping them continue to grow the company over the coming years."
In recent years, the mortgage industry has been characterized by record mortgage origination volume, driven by subprime loans and nonconforming products. At the same time, mortgage originators have loosened credit standards. In addition, according to the Federal Reserve, consumer debt has more than doubled in the past 10 years to a record $2.1 trillion. These trends, along with the potential for higher interest rates and a softening in home prices, should drive significant continued growth in the foreclosure and bankruptcy processing industry.
"MR Default Services is well positioned to benefit from substantial market growth over the next few years," added Philip Yates, Vice President of Great Hill Partners. "We believe we are partnering with the leading platform in the sector."
Dan Phelan, CEO of MR Default Services, stated, "For this transaction, we were looking for an investment firm that would provide our company with both the strategic insights and financial resources to fuel our next phase of growth. Given Great Hill's extensive investment experience in transaction processing, they were the logical choice as an investment partner."
As part of this transaction, Matt Vettel and Philip Yates of Great Hill Partners will join Dan Phelan and Penni Alper on the Board of Directors of MR Default Services.
About Great Hill Partners
Great Hill Partners is a Boston-based private equity firm with over $1.5 billion of capital under management. Great Hill targets equity investments of $20 million to $100 million. The Great Hill principals have invested in over 80 companies, executed over 250 consolidating acquisitions, and arranged over $5 billion of expansion and acquisition financing. Great Hill targets the business services, transaction processing, education, media and communications industries. In addition to MR Default Services, our recent transaction processing investments include Payroll Associates, Custom House, Vigo Remittance and BillMatrix. For more information, please visitwww.greathillpartners.com.
