Troll Gets Second Investor
by Jim Milliot -- Publishers Weekly, 10/7/2002
Less than one month after the investment group Quad Ventures acquired Troll Communications (News, Sept. 9), the company has brought in another equity firm to provide "additional capital needed for expansion," according to Seth Lehr, a partner with LLR Partners. Through its $7.5 million investment, the Philadelphia-based equity company has become a "significant minority" investor in Troll, Lehr said.
Lehr explained that LLR Partners made the Troll investment because the firm "likes the education and direct-marketing fields." He said he has been impressed with the turnaround Troll accomplished over the past 12 months, and that he expects continued improvement over the next year, led by the company's new CEO, Peter Bergen. The funds provided by LLR Partners will allow Troll to expand by internal growth as well as through niche acquisitions, Lehr said.
LLR Partners manages a $260-million private equity firm that primarily makes investments in the $5-million to $25-million range. Its holdings include Allegheny Child Care Academy and Princeton Softech.
