MailSouth, Inc.
MailSouth, Inc., established in 1988, is the nation’s largest provider of shared mail marketing programs in the rural and suburban United States. MailSouth delivers monthly shared mail advertising packages in over four hundred predominantly southern and mid-western rural and suburban markets. The Company offers its customers the ability to reach 98% of all households in its markets as well as the ability to target geographic regions ranging from national coverage to a region as narrow as a single postal carrier route.
New Mountain acquired a majority ownership position in MailSouth in March 2005, as a result of a proactive analytical focus on the marketing services and specialized media industry which had begun in early 2004. The Firm acquired MailSouth through preemption of a competitive process due to management’s strong support for New Mountain as its partner. MailSouth management chose New Mountain due to the Firm’s proven ability to create value at its previous portfolio companies and its depth of knowledge of MailSouth’s business and industry.
The Company made significant advances under New Mountain’s ownership, including a strengthened management team, a new emphasis on national advertising accounts, a new and expanded operating facility, a growth in MailSouth’s coverage area from 10 million homes to approximately 20 million homes, and a growth in packages delivered from approximately 100 million per year to over 300 million per year.
MailSouth’s earnings approximately tripled between 2004 and 2010(E) under New Mountain’s ownership, despite the severe national recession and despite the decline in most other forms of traditional media. MailSouth was sold in December 2010 to a private financial acquirer, producing a substantial gain for the Company and its shareholders.