May 21, 2007

Providence Equity Partners Acquires Majority Control of Decision Resources

Decision Resources, Inc., one of the world’s leading research and advisory firms focusing on pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, announced today that Providence Equity Partners, a leading private equity firm with more than $21 billion under management, will acquire majority control of the Company. With the additional resources that Providence provides, Decision Resources plans to accelerate its growth.

“We are excited to plan our future with Providence,” said Peter Hoenigsberg, CEO of Decision Resources. “There is a tremendous need for sophisticated, objective health care market research, and Decision Resources has been able to provide that to clients for three decades. With the resources that Providence offers, we will be entering a period of accelerated growth through acquisitions that complement our strategy as well as enhance and add to our core product lines. These initiatives will allow us to offer even greater value to our customers and more significant growth opportunities to our staff.”

“For three decades, Decision Resources has provided unique insights into the trends shaping health care,” said Peter Wilde, a managing director at Providence. “We look forward to partnering with Peter and his team to support Decision Resources’ continued growth. Our investment in Decision Resources underscores Providence’s commitment to investing in and supporting the growth of exceptional information companies around the world.”

Decision Resources, Inc. was previously owned by private equity firms Castanea Partners, Inc. and Boston Ventures Management, LLC. Under the leadership of Mr. Hoenigsberg, Castanea, and Boston Ventures, the Company acquired HealthLeaders, a managed care market research firm, and Millennium Research Group, a medical device market research firm, as part of a healthcare diversification strategy that yielded significant growth, with revenues doubling and cash flows tripling in three years.

Decision Resources will continue with its current management team led by Mr. Hoenigsberg, who will remain CEO, and Sarah Fuller, a co-founder of the Company, who will remain president. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed within 45 days.

“Since Peter left Castanea Partners to become CEO of Decision Resources, he and his team have done an outstanding job of accessing new markets and customers by building on the Company’s insightful, value-added health care information assets with targeted product development and acquisitions,” said Robert Smith, co-managing partner of Castanea Partners.

“It has been a pleasure to work with Decision Resources in taking the Company to a level that defines it as one of the premier health care advisory and market research organizations in the world,” said Elizabeth Granville-Smith, managing director at Boston Ventures. “As we pass the Company to the capable hands of Providence, we know there is much more of a journey for Decision Resources to take. We look forward to watching the Company continue its successful progression.”

About Castanea

Castanea is a private equity firm that works in partnership with founders and management teams of innovative passion brands to grow their businesses through a combination of capital investment and operating expertise. We are focused on select consumer verticals including beauty, food and beverage, multi-unit services, and enthusiast lifestyle. We typically invest between $15 to $150 million of equity in minority or majority transactions. Our team of talented operating executives offers critical expertise in key verticals and functional areas, and provides our partner companies with strategic and tactical support. Castanea has more than $1 billion in assets under management and is currently investing from a $735 million fourth fund. For more information about Castanea Partners read our story.

Back to News