Tailor made

It’s official – private equity players have become a distinct audience to be courted. More and more service providers beyond law firms are tailoring their products to the needs of the private equity industry.
This past February, the accounting firm Grant Thornton LLP, the US member firm of Grant Thornton International, announced a new private equity initiative that presents a “comprehensive approach” to serving firms and their portfolio companies. Cal Hackeman, a managing partner within the firm, is leading the initiative to centralize their efforts on behalf of private equity clients.
A “relationship partner or partners” would serve as a focal point of contact for a GP. That partner or partners would then design the most efficient way to deploy Grant Thornton’s capabilities for the firm, including those applicable to its portfolio. The rationale is to capitalize on the firm’s current client experience, which includes 300 different firms so far, to better marshal their resources for the unique demands of the industry.
Meanwhile, the UK advertising group M&C Saatchi launched a niche ad agency devoted to portfolio companies of private equity firms. The firm, known as Accelerator, says it will offer lean branding solutions that mimic the sparse style of a private equity firm.
Accelerator plans to create marketing plans for portfolio companies in six weeks instead of the standard four to six months.
M&C Saatchi’s idea is to create simple propositions for the businesses that don’t require endless rounds of research to substantiate. Most importantly, the agency would defer the majority of its fees until the firm exits the business. M&C has already enjoyed success with private equity clients, most notably with the design of “We go the extra mile” for Halfords, as CVC Capital Partners was prepping the IPO for the UK auto parts and bicycle retailer.
And in August of 2006, United Healthcare, the health insurance provider, began offering a plan whereby a private equity firm can purchase medical benefits in aggregate for the entire portfolio at once, for substantial administrative and cost savings. The plan offers customization within the individual companies, including partial and retiree programs, with the capacity for international services as well. The offering also allows policies to be held in the name of the individual businesses, so the GP doesn’t have to stand as the holder of record for all the policies.
When cola companies are asking themselves what placement agents drink, and movie studios are test-marketing blockbusters to cater to GPs’ tastes, we’ll know that private equity has truly become a consumer group to be reckoned with.