New London Communications CEO Eric Rountree Buys Company from Equity Firm
Eric Roundtree
ALPHARETTA, Ga. — March 29, 2016 — Eric Rountree has announced the completion of a buyout of New London Communications ("New London") from private equity firm Valesco Industries. Management will continue to be led by Eric Rountree, remaining at the helm as CEO.
When asked about Eric Rountree's vision for the future of New London, he expressed concern about the state of the printing industry. "It's time for printing companies to evolve. New London is instilling a culture of curiosity about our client's businesses into our daily activities and within all of our client interactions. We focus first on client goals and then we seek solutions to achieve their goals. We concentrate our efforts on how we can impact our client’s success using a consultative approach. These efforts keep us nimble and on the forefront of industry innovation."
Rountree continued, "I'm pleased to announce that our New London 2020 vision includes investing in talent, resources and technologies to enable our clients to reach their prospects, improve brand recognition and increase consumer engagement. We measure our success by the success of our clients. Therefore, we are dedicated to understanding the unique challenges our clients experience. We will lead the way as their integrated solutions provider."
Although ownership has changed, customers and vendors will continue to receive the best-in-class service New London is known to provide. "Because of the harmonious, collaborative nature of the Valesco and New London partnership these past years, our customers and vendors will experience no noticeable change in service or support," states Lori Cooper, newly appointed VP of Finance. "We will continue to operate as usual under the name New London Communications LLC."
When asked what this means for New London, members of the Leadership Team expressed their enthusiasm and alignment with Rountree's 2020 vision. "It's an exciting time at New London," says Larry Ballew, VP of sales. "Under Eric's leadership, we've been able to consistently increase sales year over year. With his ownership, we are able to aggressively pursue additional opportunities through diversification to reach our 2020 objectives."
James Mattison, VP of business development and Calhoun Operations, adds, “This is a great day for the employees and client partners of New London.” He continues, “New London’s relationships with our client partners and to the community will only become stronger now that we have returned to local, private ownership.”
With the buyout complete, New London will retain the fresh branding and website makeover announced in February. "The new website (mynewlondon.com) allows us to connect in a meaningful way. Our customers receive a unique glimpse into the world of marketing with print," comments Charity Zierten, New London's marketing manager and newest member of the Leadership Team. The New London Blog is already underway, with informative white papers coming soon. "We understand the challenges our clients face in today's crowded marketing landscape. We are expanding our services to provide our clients with effective, integrated marketing and strategy expertise," says Zierten.
Bud Moore, managing director of Valesco, commented that the Valesco investment in New London was a continuation of Valesco's proven strategy which centers around partnering with strong, passionate management teams dedicated to growth and the improvement of their businesses. "We are pleased to announce the successful sale of New London Communications to CEO, Eric Rountree."
Read Rountree's blog about the transaction here.
About New London
Founded in 1986, Alpharetta, Ga.-based New London Communications specializes in providing customer- centric printing and marketing solutions in a variety of end markets including finance, banking, manufacturing, automotive, pharmaceutical, real estate and more. New London's marketing products and services leverage technology to help customers discover success. New London provides marketing consultation through execution; offset and HP Indigo digital printing capabilities; wide- format, signage and dye- sublimation printing; promotional products and corporate apparel to meet every budget; inventory fulfillment and logistics; company marketing stores; cross media and integrated direct mail campaign development; creative design; and event and trade show marketing solutions. New London is headquartered at 343 Curie Drive, Alpharetta, Georgia, 30005 with a secondary location in Calhoun, Ga.
About Valesco
Valesco Industries is a Dallas-based private equity firm that focuses on making control and non- control investments in select growth-oriented small- and lower- middle-market businesses engaged in manufacturing, distributions and business-to-business services. Valesco specializes in partnering with a company’s management team to support its growth objectives. As long-term industry veterans, the principals have capitalized and built numerous successful businesses, serving those companies in varying roles as investors, managers, advisors and directors.
Source: New London Communications.
