Law Business Research (LBR) and ALM today announced their strategic merger, forming a global provider of legal intelligence, analysis, and networking solutions. LBR is backed by ICG and Levine Leichtman Capital Partners (LLCP) and ALM is owned by investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital.
Note: This news piece pre-dates ALM and LBR’s rebrand to Centellic.
The newly formed group will be uniquely positioned to serve clients globally by combining ALM’s deep US market penetration with LBR’s strong UK and global presence, thus offering clients unparalleled expertise, reach and service.
The two businesses’ product sets will remain the same, continuing to serve both the practice and business of law, in addition to the global IP and governance, risk and compliance markets with insight, analysis and essential data. Clients can expect continuity in their existing services, and the businesses will look to leverage their mutual strengths, assets and capabilities over time to provide even greater access to actionable insights.
The combined group has over 900 employees globally, with offices in New York, London, Washington DC, Erlanger, Philadelphia, Austin and Hong Kong.
As part of the merger, Bill Carter, President & CEO of ALM, will step down after a decade of leadership, during which he spearheaded the transformation of Law.com into a global powerhouse in legal intelligence. Nick Brailey, CEO of LBR, will assume the role of Group CEO of the newly combined business, leading the next phase of growth and innovation.
Bill Carter, CEO of ALM, said:
“After an incredible decade at ALM, this merger marks the right time for me to step away from day-to-day leadership. I am immensely proud of what we have built, especially transforming Law.com into the global leader it is today. I look forward to supporting the business through the coming months and seeing it continue to thrive in this next chapter.”
Nick Brailey, CEO of LBR said:
“This combination creates a business with unparalleled data, insight and expertise across the global legal ecosystem. I’d like to thank Bill and his team for working tirelessly to make this merger happen and I feel privileged to have the opportunity to lead the new group and to work closely with our global teams to capitalise on the strong foundations and deliver on the exciting potential that lies ahead.”
Stelios Elia, Managing Director, ICG European Corporate, said:
“At ICG, we are committed to supporting high-quality businesses by partnering with proven, entrepreneurial management teams who have a clear vision for long-term value creation. The merger of ALM and LBR will form a best-in-class information services business that will continue to set the standard for insight, analysis, and expertise that legal professionals rely on daily.”
Anup Bagaria and Michael Struble, of EagleTree Capital, said:
“ALM has been a fantastic investment, and we are incredibly grateful to Bill and the entire team for their dedication and achievements. The business is in great hands going forward, and we look forward to seeing the business continue to flourish as part of this new combined group.”
As part of the transaction, ALM’s Business and Finance division will be carved out, rebranded and retained by investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital.
Ropes & Gray, Arma Partners and Lincoln International advised LBR, ICG and LLCP on the transaction.
Raymond James and Jones Day advised ALM and EagleTree on the transaction.
About ALM
ALM is the most trusted information and intelligence company supporting both the practice of and business of professionals in the legal industry. ALM delivers leading data, intelligence, insights, events and audiences essential for growing businesses globally to over 7 million professionals.
About LBR
LBR is a technology-driven information services business powering the global professional services sector with intelligence, analytics and performance data. By applying technology to extract enhanced value from quality content, achieving commercial excellence, and empowering our teams, we deliver proprietary, time-sensitive data, insight, expert research, and sophisticated tools and networking. With an international team of over 500 experienced professionals, LBR has a proven track record of informing, engaging and connecting our clients.
About ICG
ICG provides flexible capital solutions to help companies develop and grow. We are a leading global alternative asset manager with over 35 years’ history, managing $107bn of assets* and investing across the capital structure.
We develop long-term relationships with our business partners to deliver value for shareholders, clients and employees, and use our position of influence to benefit the environment and society.
ICG is a member of the FTSE 100 and listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: ICG). Further details are available at www.icgam.com. You can follow ICG on LinkedIn and Instagram.
*Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results; as at 31 December 2024.
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.
About EagleTree Capital
EagleTree Capital is a leading New York-based middle-market private equity firm, with $4.8 billion of assets under management, that has completed 45 private equity investments and over 100 add-on transactions over the past 20+ years. EagleTree primarily invests in North America in the following sectors: business services, consumer, and specialty industrial. For more information, visit http://www.eagletree.com or find EagleTree on LinkedIn.
