Levine Leichtman Capital Partners Portfolio Company Resolution Economics Acquires Berkshire Associates

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Resolution Economics, a portfolio company of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, announced today that it has acquired Berkshire Associates. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. 

Headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, Berkshire is a leading provider of outsourced affirmative action plan (“AAP”) consulting and software services, compensation analysis and other human resource compliance-related services. Founded in 1983, Berkshire began as one of the first companies to establish an automated way to prepare AAPs, revolutionizing the AAP process for HR professionals nationwide. Over the years, Berkshire has expanded its scope of services beyond AAPs to meet the evolving needs of HR professionals with a range of services, training, and technology and software.

Ali Saad, Managing Partner at ResEcon, said, “We are incredibly excited to partner with Berkshire, a true industry leader. There is strong alignment between Berkshire’s and ResEcon’s strategic objectives and vision for the future of our combined business.” Matthew Rich, Partner at LLCP, added, “We are very impressed with the Berkshire management team’s leadership and track record of success, and are thrilled by the opportunity to add EEO compliance and AAP services to ResEcon’s existing labor and employment consulting services.”

President Beth Ronnenburg will continue to lead Berkshire as part of ResEcon. Ms. Ronnenburg has been a part of the Berkshire team for over 25 years and has been instrumental in shaping Berkshire’s culture and growing the business into the market leader it is today.

“I am delighted that Berkshire is partnering with ResEcon as we look forward to our next stage of growth,” said Ms. Ronnenburg. “There is a great cultural fit between Berkshire and ResEcon, and we see valuable opportunities to learn from each other’s successes and to offer some very important and interesting new services to our clients. We are excited by LLCP’s strong track record of partnering with management teams to improve client engagement, expand service offerings and support overall growth.”

Victoria A. Lipnic, the leader of ResEcon’s Human Capital Strategies Group and formerly Commissioner and acting Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, added, “I have known the leaders of Berkshire for many years, and look forward to working with them on a number of important service initiatives for our combined company. Berkshire has positioned itself to meet the increasing market demand for Industrial-Organizational Psychologists in human capital consulting. They are consummate professionals who provide the highest quality service to their clients.”

Resolution Economics is a portfolio company of LLCP Lower Middle Market Fund II, L.P.

Honigman LLP acted as legal counsel to LLCP and ResEcon on the transaction.

About Resolution Economics

Established in 1998, ResEcon is an employee-owned, private equity-backed consultancy with offices in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Charlotte, N.C. ResEcon is a leading provider of rigorous analytical services in the labor and employment area. In addition to providing these services to support employer’s pay equity decision making and the full range of employment decisions from recruitment to termination, the firm also provides analysis-backed DEI&A and ESG consulting through its Human Capital Strategy Group. ResEcon also has a distinguished record in performing analysis and giving expert testimony in large scale class action settings, especially in discrimination matters. In addition, the company has the leading practice nationally in handling wage and hour claims under state and federal statutes, as well as consulting to companies regarding their wage and hour practices. ResEcon’s forensic and accounting team provides analysis in a wide range of consulting situations to help companies understand their internal compliance circumstances and also provides expert assistance and testimony in dispute settings.

About Levine Leichtman Capital Partners

Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, LLC is a middle-market private equity firm with a 39-year track record of investing across various targeted sectors, including franchising, business services, education and engineered products. 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 nine partners who have worked at LLCP for an average of 19 years. Since inception, LLCP has managed approximately $13.1 billion of institutional capital across 15 investment funds and has invested in over 100 portfolio companies. LLCP currently manages $8.4 billion of assets and has offices in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Charlotte, Miami, London, Stockholm, The Hague and Frankfurt.