Fidelis Recovery Solutions, Inc., a third-party contingency collection agency based in Marietta, Ga., has been acquired by accounts receivable management industry veteran, Dennis Cunningham. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, although Fidelis co-founders John McNamara and Bret Crandall will retain equity positions.
ARM industry advisory firm Kaulkin Ginsberg initiated and advised on the transaction.
Fidelis provides national collection services to debt buyers and clients in the financial services industry.
“I believe now more than ever it is critical for debt buyers and the financial services industry as a whole to trust their debt recovery partners. I was looking for a financially stable company with a diverse customer mix and a reputation for strong competitive performance,” said Dennis Cunningham. “The Fidelis collection staff, working the Latitude software platform, has a solid two-plus years of client satisfaction. I worked with John at Nationwide Credit and know precisely the type of organization and culture I am acquiring.”
“We’re happy to see Dennis actively involved in the industry again,” noted Mike Ginsberg, President & CEO of Kaulkin Ginsberg and advisor on the transaction. Mr. Cunningham has over 30 years of senior management experience in the industry, having most recently served as CEO of Risk Management Alternatives (RMA), which was one of the top 5 agencies worldwide when it was acquired by NCO Group in September 2005.
“I’m delighted to have Dennis Cunningham as a partner. Dennis brings exactly the wealth of contacts, wisdom and insight we sought in a new equity partner,” said John McNamara. Mr. McNamara currently serves as Chief Marketing Officer of LiveVox, a leading provider of integrated, hosted dialing services to the industry.
“There are a number of experienced accounts receivable management professionals who got out of the industry during the very active M&A period from 2004 to 2007,” noted Michael Lamm, Associate of Kaulkin Ginsberg. “Like Dennis, many of these ARM executives are seeing an opportunity to get involved in the industry again now that their non-competes expired. We expect more of these types of transactions to occur over the next 6-12 months.”
Kaulkin Ginsberg is the parent company of insideARM.com.