SFW Capital Partners Invests In Buyers Laboratory, Inc., Leading Provider Of Analytical Testing And Competitive Intelligence For The Digital Imaging And Document Management Industry
December 14, 2011 - RYE, N.Y. — SFW Capital Partners (SFW), the leading private equity firm investing in mid-sized companies providing analytical tools and outsourced analytical services, today announced that it has completed a majority investment in Buyers Laboratory, Inc. (BLI or the Company), the leading provider of analytical testing and competitive intelligence services to the digital imaging and document management industry. The current owners, Michael Danziger and Mark Lerch, will retain a substantial stake in the Company and will continue in their roles as CEO and COO, respectively. John Donnelly will continue as Managing Director of BLI International. Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.
BLI, headquartered in Hackensack, New Jersey and with offices in Hong Kong and London, is the authoritative provider of analytical testing information and competitive intelligence on document imaging hardware, software, consumables and document management. BLI supports all of the large Original Equipment Manufacturers, software and service companies, and more than 1,000 dealers in digital imaging equipment through a comprehensive product offering that is based on its highly-sophisticated, proprietary analytical testing capabilities. The Company's products include field and laboratory test reports, product evaluations, and private testing. In addition, the Company is well known for its "Pick of the Year Awards" that recognize OEMs and products that have demonstrated outstanding performance.
"Buyers Laboratory fits perfectly with SFW's investment focus on the analytical tools and services sector," said Roger Freeman, an SFW partner. "The Company is the 'gold standard' in its industry. The analytics and services it provides are essential to its customers' success. We look forward to working with Michael, Mark and the management team to support BLI's continued growth and development."
"Through detailed laboratory testing of hundreds of new imaging devices and software solutions each year, and its existing database of over 15,000 devices, BLI far outpaces any competitor in quality and capability," added SFW Partner Paresh Vaish. "This comprehensive approach has, along with BLI's analytical excellence, made the Company the clear leader in the digital imaging and document management industry."
"Mark and I are extremely pleased to partner with SFW Capital," said Danziger. "We evaluated a variety of investment options, and SFW had the relevant experience and knowledge of analytical services businesses that we wanted. Their expertise and insights, as well as their financial resources, will provide the advantages we were seeking to substantially move our business forward."
About SFW Capital Partners
SFW Capital Partners is the leading private equity firm investing with management in mid-sized companies providing analytical tools and related services, including instruments, information and software, and outsourced analytical services. As a team, the partners of SFW have supported some of the most successful and well-regarded companies in its target markets. For more information, please visit www.sfwcap.com.
About Buyers Laboratory
For 50 years, Buyers Lab (BLI) has been the leading independent office-equipment testing lab and business consumer advocate. In addition to publishing the industry’s most comprehensive and accurate test reports on office document imaging devices, each representing months of exhaustive hands-on testing in BLI’s US and UK laboratories, the company has been the leading source of competitive intelligence for industry professionals on copiers, printers, fax machines, scanners, duplicators, wide-format devices and multifunctional products. The company’s databases cover nearly 15,000 products globally and have a long-standing reputation for being the industry’s most trustworthy and complete source for specifications and side-by-side comparisons, all of which are available as part of bliQ, BLI’s web-based encyclopedic resource. Subscribers also have access to BLI’s renowned Lab Test Reports, First Look Reports, Solutions Reports, Environmental Reports, news articles and a complete library of manufacturers’ product literature, as well as valuable tools, including a Product Configurator and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Calculator.
Buyers Lab also provides business consumers with How-To-Guides, a Needs Assessment Wizard and Free Vendor Quotes via its Buyers Lab Advisor website, as well as independent purchasing advice and consulting from its Buyers Alliance procurement experts. Business consumers and manufacturers can also select from a vast array of confidential for-hire private testing services that include document imaging device beta and pre-launch testing, performance certification testing, consumables testing (such as toner, ink and photoconductors) and software solutions and print media testing (including virgin and recycled papers).
For more information on Buyers Laboratory, business consumers should visit www.buyerslabadvisor.com. All others should go to www.buyerslab.com, call (201) 488-0404, or e-mail info@buyerslab.com.
