Mike Russiello
President and Co-founder
Brainbench |
I am excited
to share with you that Brainbench has been acquired by PreVisor, a leader
in performance-predicting employment assessments. With this combination,
we can bring you the most comprehensive solutions for predicting employee
performance across a broader set of job types including technical, sales,
customer service, management, administrative, and many others.
PreVisor
and Brainbench share a common vision. Both organizations have seen first-hand
the improvements in business results employers gain by using predictive
assessments in the pre-hire process: lower employee turnover, streamlined
selection process, and better performance.
Thank you
for choosing Brainbench and for helping us build a strong, reputable
business. We will continue to deliver to you the quality you have come
to expect from us and we'll keep you informed as new capabilities
become available.
Below,
I've attached answers to some frequently asked questions as well
as the related press release.
We see
this as an exciting opportunity and look forward to our continued and
hopefully expanded relationship with you.
Mike Russiello
|
How
will customers benefit from this alliance?
The combination of Brainbench and PreVisor will provide Brainbench customers
additional resources and capabilities in employment assessment and selection.
This union furthers the joint vision of both Brainbench and PreVisor of
creating a one-stop source capable of meeting employer's workforce
selection and performance needs for every job and every stage of the employee
lifecycle including hiring, deploying, developing, and succession planning.
Is
this a purchase or a merger?
This acquisition was a highly collaborative effort between PreVisor and
Brainbench. The employment testing sector is highly fragmented with hundreds
of providers and no clear leader. This is another progressive step in
the PreVisor consolidation strategy to establish a credible provider with
the combination of scale, technology and expertise to deliver comprehensive
candidate selection and employee development solutions.
Will
the new company be PreVisor, Brainbench, or something new?
The PreVisor and Brainbench products and brands will continue to be marketed
in their current form. Brainbench will be identified as a PreVisor company.
What
are the terms of the acquisition?
Terms of the agreement are not disclosed.
Who
will be the managing entity and will executive management change?
The executive management teams of both PreVisor and Brainbench will stay
in place. PreVisor corporate headquarters are based in Atlanta, Georgia
with offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Washington, D.C., and Tampa, Florida.
Will
Brainbench remain located in the Washington, D.C. area?
Brainbench headquarters will remain in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
When
and how will PreVisor products be available to Brainbench customers?
We envision PreVisor and Brainbench continuing to sell their current product
offerings through the rest of 2006. Referrals and cross-selling will make
it possible for customers to access the solutions that best fit their
needs.
Will
any Brainbench products be eliminated?
There will not be changes in the immediate future regarding the current
product and service mix. Moving forward, we will collectively evaluate
potential overlaps in the business' offerings to maximize product
synergies and market needs.
Will
the back-end systems (technology infrastructure) be merged?
There will not be immediate changes in the technology and infrastructure.
Will
services (sales, support, client service, etc.) be merged?
Sales and support teams will be integrated to best support the needs of
our combined customer base.
PREVISOR
ACQUIRES BRAINBENCH
Acquisition
Expands Job-Specific Assessment Solutions;
Strengthens Position in the Government and Consumer Markets
Atlanta,
GA (May 31, 2006) — PreVisor, a leader in workforce selection and performance, today announced that it has acquired Brainbench, Inc., an innovator in employment testing and skills certification. The acquisition strengthens PreVisor's position as the leading online provider of job-specific, pre-employment assessments by adding Brainbench's world-renowned IT skills testing content to its library, expanding its market penetration, and increasing its strong foothold in the government sector with accounts such as the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Department of State. The acquisition also gives PreVisor entry into the consumer skills testing market where Brainbench has provided over 5.5 million members with access to its testing and certification programs to measure and improve their skills.
The acquisition of Brainbench is the second transaction within the past year for PreVisor, the first being its formation in August 2005 through the combination of Qwiz, ePredix, and PDRI. With this latest acquisition, PreVisor will stay true to its mission, joining with Brainbench in a combined commitment to maximize the predictive ability of its employee assessments by adhering to the rigorous scientific standards of industrial-organizational psychology. PreVisor is a leading employer of industrial-organizational psychology specialists, with more than 60 holding a master or doctorate degree in the discipline.
"We are very pleased to become part of the PreVisor family of companies," says Mike Russiello, president, CEO and co-founder of Brainbench, based in Chantilly, Virginia. "PreVisor and Brainbench share a common vision, having seen first hand the improvements in business results employers gain by using objective and predictive employee assessments in the early stages of the hiring process. We now join forces to help employers maximize this benefit with a broader solution."
Noel Sitzmann, CEO of PreVisor stated, "In line with our very focused acquisition strategy, the addition of Brainbench's IT testing content will supplement PreVisor's job-specific predictive hiring solutions and broaden an already large library of job titles." As a result, both organizations will now be able to offer clients the most comprehensive solutions for predicting employee performance. Sitzmann adds, "We are proud to bring Brainbench into the PreVisor family of companies and anticipate great things from the addition of Mike Russiello, Bill Lake and Mike Littman, Brainbench's founders, to PreVisor's management team."
PreVisor is a portfolio company of Veronis Suhler Stevenson, a private equity and mezzanine capital fund management company dedicated to investing in the media, communications, information and education industries in North America and Europe. "We are very pleased to complete this acquisition, which clearly extends PreVisor's leadership position in online testing and assessment," said Michael B. Kessler, a Managing Director of Veronis Suhler Stevenson.
About
PreVisor
PreVisor, a leading supplier of pre-employment assessments helps employers identify top performers. The company leverages decades of applied organizational psychology research to develop content that accurately predicts on-the-job performance. Furthermore, its solutions help streamline and standardize hiring processes and reduce recruiting and training costs to better meet strategic HR objectives. PreVisor's award-winning assessments, solutions and consulting support hiring decisions and maximize performance for over 40,000 clients worldwide.
About
Brainbench
Brainbench helps clients test, track, and improve their employees' vital job characteristics, using the industry's largest library of tests. Brainbench's online assessment solutions improve hiring, retention, training, customer satisfaction, and profitability for organizations such as Advance Auto Parts, British Telecommunication, Citigroup, IBM, Manpower, OPM, TEKsystems, the U.S. Army and Wells Fargo. Brainbench has served over 5.5 million consumer members with more than 500 skills test and certifications that help individuals measure and obtain certification for skills that are in high demand. For more information, visit www.brainbench.com.
About Veronis Suhler Stevenson
Veronis Suhler Stevenson (www.vss.com) is a private equity and mezzanine capital fund management company dedicated to investing in the media, communications, information and education industries in North America and Europe. VSS provides capital for buyouts, recapitalizations, growth financings and strategic acquisitions to companies and management teams with a goal to build companies both organically and through a focused add-on acquisition program. To date, VSS equity and mezzanine funds have invested in 42 platform companies, which have in turn completed over 200 add-on acquisitions resulting in a portfolio with realized and unrealized enterprise values totaling approximately $9.1 billion.
For
more information, contact:
Pamela Bartz
PreVisor, Inc.
(678) 832-0550
pbartz@previsor.com
