Edison Exits Tax Preparation Leader, Liberty Tax
Lawrenceville, NJ (PRWEB) March 25, 2014 -- Edison Ventures announces that it has exited JTH Holding Inc. (NASDAQ: TAX), the parent company of Liberty Tax Service, of Virginia Beach, VA. Edison invested $3.3M in Liberty Tax which listed on the NASDAQ in July 2012. Liberty Tax’s $45.0M cumulative proceeds generated just under 14X return multiple on Edison’s investment.
Liberty Tax is the fastest-growing tax preparation company. The Company has prepared almost 16 million individual income tax returns and operates over 4,400 offices. Forbes rated Liberty Tax as #7 in the “Top 20 Franchises for the Buck” in 2012. Liberty Tax Service has been ranked as one of the top franchise opportunities on Entrepreneur magazine’s annual Franchise 500 every year from 1998 to 2012.
Founder and CEO John Hewitt is a nationally recognized name in the tax return preparation and accounting world. He is a veteran of 45 tax seasons, the founder of two top tax preparation firms, and a former H&R Block regional director. Accounting Today magazine has named Hewitt one of the accounting profession’s top 100 most influential people 11 times.
“John Hewitt is a pioneer in the tax preparation industry. He exemplifies the best of the entrepreneurial spirit and has been an inspiration to all of us at Edison,” commented Gary Golding, Edison Ventures General Partner and a former member of Liberty Tax board of directors. “John Hewitt and the Liberty Tax management team have created an impressive industry leader, which is consistent with Edison’s goal for every investment,” added Chris Sugden, Managing General Partner of Edison. We also thank George Robson for his many years of service and value he brought to Liberty’s board of directors. George is former CFO of Dendrite (another Edison IPO and big success. Mr. Robson is a member of Edison’s Director Network, he continues to serve as Audit Committee Chairman of Liberty Tax.
Other notable Edison Fintech investments include Billtrust, Business Financial Services, Compliance Science, EdgeTrade, Folio Dynamix, Gain Capital, Princeton Financial System, Neat Company, Scivantage and Redvision.
About Edison Ventures
Established in 1986, Edison partners with entrepreneurs, service providers and other financing sources to build successful companies. Edison provides capital and value-added services to late stage ($5 to 20 million revenue), information technology businesses. Initial investments range from $5 to 10 million. Edison typically serves as the sole or lead investor. In addition to providing expansion capital, Edison funds management buyouts, recapitalizations, spinouts and secondary stock purchases.
Edison’s investment professionals are based in Lawrenceville, NJ, Needham, MA, New York, NY, McLean, VA and Cleveland, OH. Industry specialties include financial technology, healthcare IT, interactive marketing and ecommerce. Edison’s successes include CambridgeSoft, E-Transport, MathSoft, Neat, Princeton Financial, TrueCommerce, Virtual Edge and many other information technology leaders, which have a combined market value exceeding $5 billion. Edison Ventures currently manages over $700 million and actively making new investments. For more information on Edison Ventures, please visit http://www.edisonventures.com and follow us on Twitter @edisonventure.
About Liberty Tax
Founded in 1997 by CEO John T. Hewitt, JTH Holding, Inc. (NASDAQ: TAX), is the parent company of Liberty Tax Service. Liberty Tax is the fastest-growing tax preparation franchise and has prepared almost 16 million individual income tax returns in more than 4,400 offices and online. Liberty Tax’s online services are available through eSmart Tax, Liberty Online and DIY Tax, and are all backed by the tax professionals at Liberty Tax locations and its nationwide network of over 30,000 tax preparers. Liberty Tax also supports local communities with fundraising endeavors and contributes as a national sponsor for many charitable causes. For a more in-depth look, visit Liberty Tax Service and interact with Liberty Tax on Twitter and Facebook.
Tricia Bradley, Edison Ventures, http://www.edisonventures.com, +1 (609) 873-9224, [email protected]
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