August 19, 2014

Spear Education Receives Investment from Linden Capital

Brentwood Capital Advisors Served as Exclusive Financial Advisor to Spear Education, LLC

Brentwood Capital Advisors LLC is pleased to announce that it served as the exclusive financial advisor to Spear Education, LLC (“Spear” or the “Company”) in its recently completed investment led by Linden Capital Partners (“Linden”).

Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Spear is the North American leader in post-graduate clinical dental education. Spear fills the need for advanced dental education and enables doctors to diagnose and develop a comprehensive treatment plan and to improve case acceptance and clinical skills, resulting in better patient experiences and more professionally rewarding and profitable dental practices. The Company offers advanced educational content through both subscription-based and campus-based offerings.

Linden led the equity investment, which included a co-investment by Brentwood Capital Partners, L.P.

“Spear is committed to lifelong learning and clinical excellence that transforms the practices of dentists and the lives of patients. Linden is an ideal partner, and through our combined expertise the Company is poised for an incredible future. Linden will provide capital and other resources to help fuel the growth of the Company’s premier dental education offerings, and together we look forward to taking this exciting next step in the Company’s development,” said Frank Spear of Spear Education. “Brentwood Capital Advisors, our investment banking advisor in this transaction, conducted a highly-competitive process that resulted in a great outcome for existing shareholders and the right partner for the Company going forward. BCA played a critical role in preparing us to go to market and in the success of the process. We could not be happier with the result and look forward to working with the Brentwood team again.”

“Spear’s full continuum of dental education tools, growth characteristics, recurring revenue model and market-leading position enabled BCA to position the Company as an attractive opportunity for investors. We believe this investment will provide the resources necessary to drive significant future growth of dental education and the Spear platform,” added Nick Carteaux, Managing Director and Partner of Brentwood Capital Advisors. “We were pleased to advise Spear on this important investment and enjoyed working with Frank Spear, Imtiaz Manji, Kaleim Manji, Rezwan Manji and the rest of the management team.”

“The Linden team structured an innovative deal that fit the needs of all Spear shareholders. Their significant experience in the dental space, including a current investment in Young Innovations, among others, made them an ideal partner for Spear and greatly accelerated the diligence process. The Linden team was professional, knowledgeable and followed through on every aspect of their proposal. It was a pleasure working with them on this transaction, and we look forward to working with them in the future,” said Kevin Murphy, Managing Partner of Brentwood Capital Advisors.

About Spear Education, LLC

Formed in 2006 and headquartered in Scottsdale, AZ, Spear Education is dentistry’s premier source for continuing education. The company serves dentists of all clinical skill levels and transforms practices and the lives of patients by offering physical hands-on courses, extensive peer-to-peer regional learning, and comprehensive online educational tools. For more information, go to www.speareducation.com

About Brentwood Capital Advisors LLC

Based in Franklin, Tennessee, Brentwood Capital Advisors is an independent investment banking boutique specializing in providing mergers & acquisitions and capital raising advisory services to middle-market companies in the healthcare, enterprise software, internet, financial services, and business services sectors. BCA has served as exclusive financial advisor in over 60 successfully closed transactions totaling over $4 billion in value in these sectors. Founded in 1999, the firm is partner-owned and has fourteen investment banking professionals. For additional information please go to our website at www.brentwoodcapital.com.

About Linden Capital Partners

Linden Capital Partners is a Chicago-based private equity firm focused exclusively on middle market, healthcare leveraged buyouts. Linden’s strategy is based upon three elements: i) healthcare and life science industry specialization, ii) integrated private equity and operating expertise, and iii) strategic relationships with large corporations. Linden invests in middle market platforms in the medical products, specialty distribution, specialty pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and services segments of healthcare. For more information, please visit www.lindenllc.com.

About Brentwood Capital Partners, L.P.

Formed in June 2009, Brentwood Capital Partners, L.P., is a $15 million private equity fund that makes later-stage co-investments with leading private equity firms in control and non-control investment banking transactions in which Brentwood Capital Advisors LLC serves as exclusive financial advisor. The fund’s limited partners are comprised of CEOs and business leaders from across the Southeast.

Get in touch with us!