Levine Leichtman Capital Partners Portfolio Company Blue Ridge Associates Acquires TSC 401K

Blue Ridge Associates (“Blue Ridge”), a portfolio company of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners (“LLCP”), announced today that it has acquired Tax Sheltered Corporation, Inc. (“TSC”), a leading provider of administration solutions for retirement plan benefits.

The addition of TSC further strengthens Blue Ridge’s position as the leading independent ESOP and qualified retirement savings plan administration and recordkeeping firm. Established in 1966, TSC has been a market leader in administration and compliance solutions for all types of employer-sponsored qualified retirement plans serving 3,100 plans covering over 152,000 participants across the small and middle-market business community.

“Our strategy has long been to create complimentary, market-leading, people-first businesses that leverage technology to provide excellent service to our clients,” said Bill Yoerger, CEO of Blue Ridge. “After getting to know the TSC team, it was abundantly clear that they were the perfect partner to advance our strategic objectives and capitalize on the sizeable and growing qualified retirement plan market.”

Andrew Alexander, Managing Director at LLCP, added, “We are pleased to demonstrate our continued support of the Blue Ridge team with this acquisition, which reinforces their strategic combination of organic and inorganic growth initiatives. Combined with its market leading ESOP practice, Blue Ridge is well-positioned to deliver continued growth by offering existing and future clients a unique set of solutions.”

Blue Ridge is a portfolio company of LLCP Lower Middle Market Fund, L.P.

About Levine Leichtman Capital Partners

Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, LLC is a middle-market private equity firm with a 40-year track record of investing across various targeted sectors, including Franchising & Multi-unit, Business Services, Education & Training and Engineered Products & Manufacturing. LLCP utilizes a differentiated Structured Private Equity investment strategy, combining debt and equity capital investments in portfolio companies. LLCP believes that by investing in a combination of debt and equity securities, it offers management teams growth capital in a highly tailored, flexible investment structure that can be a more attractive alternative than traditional private equity.

LLCP’s global team of dedicated investment professionals is led by 10 partners who have worked at LLCP for an average of 19 years. Since inception, LLCP has managed approximately $14.4 billion of institutional capital across 15 investment funds and has invested in over 100 portfolio companies. LLCP currently manages $9.6 billion of assets and has offices in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Miami, London, Stockholm, The Hague and Frankfurt.