Sale of Palm Coast Data Imminent
Wednesday, July 13, 2005 (Folio: Magazine)
By TONY SILBER 
Palm Coast Data, the country's third-largest fulfillment company, is
likely to be sold within a few weeks for the second time in three
years. Current owner Tinicum Capital Partners, a New York-based
private-equity firm that acquired Palm Coast in April 2002 for $30
million, is opportunistically divesting the company, a source familiar
with the deal said.
?Palm Coast has been doing well, so in order to get their money out
[Tinicum] refinanced, and the buyer liked what they saw and made an
offer,? the source said. The source would not name the buyer, but
characterized it as a private equity firm.
The source added that the company?s revenue, estimated at the time of
the 2002 sale to be around $30 million, have grown substantially.
The divestiture will not affect Tinicum?s other major fulfillment
holding, Hallmark Data Systems, which is a large player specializing
in b-to-b fulfillment. Palm Coast provides services primarily to
consumer magazines, with its larger clients including Primedia and the
National Rifle Association.
Palm Coast?based in Palm Coast, Florida?is one of the big three
fulfillment providers, along with CDS and Kable News Co. It was
acquired by Tinicum from DIMAC Marketing Partners Inc. At the time of
the acquisition, the fulfillment industry was in a period of upheaval,
with one of the historically largest players, EDS (the company once
known as Neodata) enduring a prolonged period of instability. That
ended in April 2003, when EDS was acquired by AMREP Corp. subsidiary
Kable for about $10 million plus assumed liabilities. That acquisition
made Kable the country?s second-largest fulfillment company, after
CDS.
At the time of Tinicum?s acquisition of Palm Coast, there was concern
in the industry that a financial buyer would not adequately invest in
the company?s growth, but sources say that was dispelled during the
last three years and none of Palm Coast?s current clients have
expressed concern.
Bob Kelly, the Tinicum executive who is Palm Coast?s chairman, did not
return calls by presstime.