Warburg Sells CAMP Systems

Chicago buyout shop GTCR LLC has emerged as the winner of an auction to acquire CAMP Systems Inc., a seller of maintenance-tracking services to private aircraft owners, from fellow private-equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC, according to people familiar with the matter.

GTCR was one of at least five private-equity bidders for CAMP. The firm agreed to pay between $600 million and $700 million for the Ronkonkoma, N.Y., company, one of the people said.

Credit Suisse Group AG CS -0.96% ran the auction, which drew bids from Bain Capital LLC and Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, among others, people familiar with the process said.

Warburg bought CAMP from venture-capital fund Boston Partners in 2005 for an undisclosed amount and began preparing for the sale last summer. CAMP's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization is around $45 million, according to a person familiar with the company.

GTCR leveraged the deal more than seven times and agreed to pay half of the purchase price in equity, people familiar with the matter said.

GTCR has invested more than $9 billion since 1980. Its 200 investments have been generally in health care, financial services and information services.

CAMP has several U.S. locations, along with offices in Canada, France and India. Its software tells jet owners when and how to perform maintenance. CAMP currently has 12,000 customers and a renewal rate for its service above 90%, according to Warburg's website.