Mitchell International Inc., a San Diego provider of software and data to the auto insurance claims and collision repair industries, said it signed a definitive agreement to sell the company to an investment partnership led by Aurora Capital Group and General Electric Pension Trust for an undisclosed price.
Founded in 1946, Mitchell has been owned by Hellman & Freidman LLC, a San Francisco private equity investment firm, for the last seven years.
“Nothing will change,” said Mitchell CEO Jim Lindner. “The only thing that changes is one private equity firm is taking the place of another private equity firm.”
Mitchell has about 850 employees, including 550 in San Diego. Its revenues have grown by a compounded annual rate of 9 percent over the last seven years and finished last year at $190 million. Profits rose by 16 percent compounded over the same time, Lindner said.
“We expect to continue that success with Aurora Capital,” he said.
Aurora Capital, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm with some $2 billion under management, is run by Gerald Parsky, a Rancho Santa Fe resident and longtime Republican fund-raiser.
Parsky, who is on the board of Regents for the University of California, said discussions on the transaction got under way in November, and the transaction should close in March.
“We think the revenues and profitability of the company will show good growth over the next five years,” Parsky said.
Goldman Sachs & Co. and Wachovia Securities LLC acted as financial advisors on the deal.
, Mike Allen