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January 2019

JEGI REPRESENTS RKD GROUP IN SALE TO BV INVESTMENT PARTNERS

New York, NY, January 30, 2019 – RKD Group, LLC, a market-leading provider of omnichannel fundraising and marketing services to the nonprofit sector, in partnership with RKD’s management team, has received a significant investment from BV Investment Partners (“BV”), a middle-market private equity firm focused on the business services, software and IT services sectors.

JEGI (www.jegi.com), the leading independent investment bank for the global media, information, marketing, software and tech-enabled services sectors, with offices in New York, Boston, London and Sydney, represented RKD Group in this transaction.

RKD Group, headquartered in Dallas, has raised billions of dollars for its clients and currently serves over 260 nonprofit organizations, within segments such as hospitals, social service, health, disease research, animal welfare, and faith-based charities. Nonprofits rely on RKD’s data-driven, omni-channel solutions to generate net revenue, accelerate growth, build long-term donor relationships, and drive online and offline donor engagement.

Tim Kersten, Chief Executive Officer of RKD, said, “RKD serves as a powerful partner to help non-profit organizations efficiently build deep relationships with donors and empower them to fund their missions and make a lasting impact on the world. We are proud of the strong and resilient company we have built and the causes we help serve. With BV’s partnership and experienced leadership team, we are well positioned to build on our standing as a trusted advisor to a robust client base.”

Mike Ricciardelli, Managing Director of BV, said, “RKD’s fundraising services produce the ‘lifeblood’ of most nonprofit organizations – namely, individual donations. Their robust direct response offering, across digital and non-digital media, is supported by specialized in-house data analytics, strategic planning, donor segmentation, creative services, and customized reporting and insights. Additionally, the company is developing new software-based products that will further help nonprofit organizations better manage their fundraising and engagement with donors and members.”

Sean Wilder, Principal of BV, said, “The investment in RKD aligns well with BV’s experience in the constituent engagement and outsourced marketing services sector. The Company provides a high ROI driven business service to the very large and resilient nonprofit market.  We have partnered with a topnotch management team, and we look forward to executing on the next leg of growth for RKD. With over 220,000 addressable U.S. nonprofit clients, RKD has only just scratched the surface of its future potential scale.”

RKD is BV’s sixth investment in its ninth Fund.

About RKD Group
RKD Group is a leading fundraising and marketing services provider to more than 260 nonprofit organizations, including hospitals, social service, health, disease research, animal welfare, and faith-based charities. RKD Group’s multichannel approach leverages technology, advanced data science, and award-winning strategic and creative leadership to accelerate net revenue growth, build long-term donor relationships, and drive online and offline engagements and donations. With a growing team of 200+ professionals, RKD Group creates breakthroughs never thought possible. For more information, visit www.rkdgroup.com.

About BV Investment Partners
BV Investment Partners is currently investing its ninth private equity fund. The firm is one of the oldest and most experienced sector-focused private equity firms in North America. Since its founding in 1983, the firm has invested over $3.2 billion in more than 94 companies, actively targeting investments in the business services and information technology services industries. For more information, visit www.bvlp.com.

About JEGI
JEGI has been the leading independent investment bank for the global media, information, marketing, software and tech-enabled services sectors for over 30 years. Headquartered in North America, with offices in New York City and Boston, as well as London and Sydney (through its partnership with CLARITY), JEGI has completed more than 600 high‐profile M&A and financing transactions, serving global corporations; middle‐market and emerging companies; entrepreneurial owners and founders; and private equity and venture capital firms. For more information, visit www.jegi.com.

“The JEGI team did an outstanding job, and we hope to work with you on additional sell side projects from our portfolio.  As you know we had an important checklist of requirements in picking a banker to represent us. The JEGI team drove unique value due to your deep understanding of the digital and omni channel marketing services sector to perfectly position the business for prospective buyers in a way that resulted in a premium valuation. JEGI delivered on every count in driving a well-organized, timely process that yielded an outcome that exceeded our expectations. JEGI’s team is highly-organized and accessible any time of day.  The team handled a broad outreach, extensive due diligence and timetable to close on schedule. An A+ effort all around.”
– Walter Beinecke, Partner, Brook Venture Partners

“JEGI exceeded our expectations at every level. The razor-sharp quality of the JEGI team’s presentation impressed us from the first minute of our introduction and quickly won our confidence and our business.  JEGI’s deep sector knowledge and extensive relationships with potential buyers was an enormous advantage.  And JEGI’s disciplined adherence to their proven-successful process engendered a high degree of certainty that our story with JEGI would end well—and it did, as JEGI brought the sale of RKD Group to a better-than-anticipated conclusion.  I am grateful to the JEGI team for what they achieved on our behalf and I unreservedly commend them to others who are looking for best-in-class investment banking services.”
– Tim Kersten, CEO, RKD Group