MidOcean Partners Sells Majority Stake in The Planet Group

Planet Executed Significant Business Transformation and Growth Plan Under MidOcean’s Ownership

NEW YORK & CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–MidOcean Partners (“MidOcean”), a premier middle-market private equity firm focused on the business services and consumer sectors, today announced it has successfully sold its majority investment in The Planet Group (“Planet”), one of the world’s leading diversified professional services organizations. Planet will be merging with ProPharma Group (“ProPharma”), a portfolio company of Odyssey Investment Partners. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

MidOcean invested in Planet in January 2018, and since that time, Planet has grown significantly, entered new markets, and executed accretive acquisitions that drove strong financial and operational performance. Under MidOcean’s stewardship, Planet successfully acquired and integrated I.T. Works Recruitment, Interactive Business Systems, NDA Partners, and WinterWyman among other strategic businesses. In 2020, Planet was named one of the Fastest Growing US Staffing Firms by Staffing Industry Analysts.

Headquartered in Chicago, Planet provides high-value outsourced global workforce solutions and consulting services to Fortune 500 and other top companies. Planet’s family of nine entities was purpose-built to service leading companies in the life sciences, diversified energy, engineering, financial, healthcare, technology and digital marketing sectors. Planet strengthens the employer-employee dynamic by connecting clients with talent, which creates enduring, valuable relationships.

Elias Dokas, Managing Director at MidOcean, said, “Over the past three years, Planet has realized exceptional growth – organically and through the completion of six add-on acquisitions – quadrupling EBITDA during this period, and positioning itself as one of the preeminent global providers of human capital services to the pharma, life sciences, and IT sectors. It has been a pleasure working with Mike Stomberg, Tim Bauwens and the entire Planet team, and we are confident that the company is poised for continued growth with ProPharma and Odyssey Investment Partners.”

“We have really enjoyed the partnership with MidOcean, whose deep industry expertise and experience building successful human capital platforms provided support through significant expansion, both organically and through acquisitions,” said Mike Stomberg, CEO of Planet. “I am proud of our achievements with MidOcean’s backing and we are thrilled to merge with ProPharma Group as we enter the next phase of growth to create a dynamic, global platform with comprehensive service offerings to fulfill our clients’ needs.”

MidOcean is a longtime investor in the human capital businesses. Prior investments include System One, a leading provider of staffing and outsourced services in the engineering, scientific, communications, technology and legal areas that MidOcean exited in October 2016, and Global Knowledge, a world class provider of IT training to corporate clients that MidOcean exited in January 2015. Within the human capital space, MidOcean focuses on markets with clear secular growth trends, such as pharmaceutical, information technology, engineering and healthcare.

William Blair & Company, Houlihan Lokey Capital, Inc. and FocalPoint Partners, LLC acted as Financial Advisors and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and Clark Hill PLC acted as Legal Advisors to The Planet Group and MidOcean Partners. Latham & Watkins, LLP acted as Legal Advisor to Odyssey Investment Partners. Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg LLP acted as Legal Advisor to The Planet Group management.

About MidOcean Partners

MidOcean Partners is a premier New York-based alternative asset manager specializing in middle-market private equity and alternative credit investments. Since its inception in 2003, MidOcean Private Equity has targeted investments in high-quality middle-market companies in the business services and consumer sectors. MidOcean Credit Partners was launched in 2009 and manages a series of alternative credit strategies, collateralized loan obligations and customized separately managed accounts. For more information, visit www.midoceanpartners.com.

About The Planet Group

The Planet Group consists of nine entities, including four global consulting organizations and five renowned staffing brands, and has been purposefully built to address the professional services needs of leading companies in the Life Sciences, Technology, Diversified Energy & Engineering, Accounting & Finance, Human Resources, Healthcare and Digital Marketing areas. The company was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with offices throughout the US and Europe. Learn more at https://theplanetgroup.com.

About ProPharma Group

ProPharma Group is the leading global, independent, single-source provider of outsourced regulatory, compliance, pharmacovigilance, and medical information services serving pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies. Founded in 2001, ProPharma Group has more than 1,300 colleagues worldwide providing a comprehensive portfolio of regulatory and compliance solutions to help solve complex challenges in a dynamic regulatory environment. With the mission to improve the health and safety of patients, ProPharma Group is focused on delivering the highest quality of services throughout the full product lifecycle. For more information, please visit www.propharmagroup.com.

About Odyssey Investment Partners

Odyssey Investment Partners, with offices in New York and Los Angeles, is a leading private equity investment firm with more than a 25-year history of partnering with skilled managers to transform middle-market companies into more efficient and diversified businesses with strong growth profiles. Odyssey makes majority-controlled investments in industries with a long-term positive outlook and favorable secular trends. For further information about Odyssey, please visit www.odysseyinvestment.com.

Contacts

Media Contacts
For MidOcean Partners

Gasthalter & Co.

Nathaniel Garnick / Grace Cartwright

(212) 257- 4170

For The Planet Group

Elizabeth Spayne

(781) 530-3191