Gridiron Capital, an investment firm focused on partnering with founders and management teams, has acquired ABC Legal Services, a leading provider of service of process (SOP) and court filing solutions, from Aquiline. This partnership combines ABC Legal’s innovative approach with Gridiron’s expertise.
Founded in 1974 and headquartered in Seattle, ABC Legal supports law firms, corporations, and government entities with efficient legal workflow solutions, connecting over 29,000 clients to more than 8,000 process servers across the U.S. and 88 countries. CEO Tim Dinehart leads the company alongside a strong management team.
The collaboration underscores Gridiron’s dedication to its Legal and Insurance Services Thematic Area of Expertise and its successful investment strategy. Gridiron plans to maximize ABC Legal’s market position by leveraging its dual-sided network to enhance customer service and increase volume for process servers. Together, they aim to expand the market, diversify services, enhance digital marketing, and foster innovation.
Counsel/advisors: Greenberg Traurig served as legal counsel and Houlihan Lokey as financial advisor to Gridiron. Ropes & Gray served as ABC Legal and Aquiline’s legal counsel and Harris Williams as financial advisor.
KEY QUOTES:
“This partnership with Gridiron is an exciting moment for our company and a win for our customers, partners, process servers, and employees. We’re excited to leverage Gridiron’s knowledge and resources to continue to invest in our best-in-class technology and solutions, upholding our mission to simplify legal workflows for our customers. We are deeply grateful to Aquiline and our founders for their support and look forward to continued growth while striving to deliver exceptional service to our clients in this new chapter.”
Tim Dinehart
“We are excited to partner with the premier provider of SOP and broader legal document delivery services as they embark on their next chapter of growth. We look forward to further investing and extending the Company’s current technology platform, building on their track record of innovation and leadership within their industry.”
Scott Harrison, Senior Managing Director at Gridiron
“Tim Dinehart and the entire ABC Legal organization should be immensely proud of their success to date, and of the business they have built. From our first meeting with the ABC team, it was evident that we share a strong cultural alignment and common vision for success. We’re thrilled to join forces with the ABC Legal team to drive forward that vision for the future.”
Andrew Kahn, Principal at Gridiron
“Our journey with ABC Legal over the past six years has been incredibly rewarding. It has been a privilege partnering with Tim and the ABC Legal team as they have successfully broadened the Company’s service offering, enhanced its market-leading technology, and expanded its impressive client base both organically and through acquisitions. We believe ABC Legal is poised for continued growth and wish them success with Gridiron.”
Matt Woeste, Partner at Aquiline
