CTL Enters Next Phase of Growth by Partnering with Columbia River Partners and Adding Senior Google Executive to Advisory Board

PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — CTL Inc. (‘CTL", or the "Company"), one of the nation’s leading providers of Chrome hardware and services announced that it has partnered with Columbia River Partners ("CRP"), a lower middle-market private equity firm focused on control-oriented investments in the business services, industrials, and IT services sectors in North America.

Based in Beaverton, OR and with international offices in Europe and SE Asia, CTL will use the new capital and partnership to expand its Chrome hardware and services for the education, government, and commercial markets. Today, CTL is the leading provider of a full suite of services for the K-12 market, from provisioning, distributing, and repairing, to managing all Chrome products and services.

As part of the investment, Alberto Martin, former Director of Product Management for Chrome OS at Google, is joining CTL’s advisory board. Mr. Martin was one of the original team members that developed the Chrome OS and helped scale it to become the #2 operating systems in the United States. He has worked extensively across the entire ecosystem of Chrome software and hardware. Mr. Martin is considered one of the pre-eminent strategists in the Chrome industry. "CTL is one of the highest quality manufacturers of Chrome hardware and the services they offer to both the K-12 and enterprise market makes CTL a very compelling company that I am excited to join," commented Alberto Martin.

Erik Stromquist, CEO of CTL and member of the Board of Directors added "It is clear to me and the senior team at CTL that Columbia River Partners provides meaningful and relevant experience and resources that will help us build upon a successful platform with significant growth opportunities. I am eager to work alongside Nathan, Pooneet, Alberto, and Columbia River Partners to bring CTL into its next stage of growth."

"Under the leadership of Erik Stromquist and his management team, CTL has grown into a true market leader in Chrome hardware and services for both K-12 and the enterprise. We look forward to partnering with Erik, Alberto, and the rest of the CTL team to execute on multiple growth opportunities and other strategic initiatives," said Pooneet Goel, Partner of Columbia River Partners.

CTL was advised by D.A. Davidson & Co. (financial) and Slinde Nelson (legal). Columbia River Partners was advised by McGuire Woods (legal), Lockton (insurance), and Geffen Mesher (accounting). The transaction was supported by Bank of America and Mizzen Capital.

About CTL, Inc.
Headquartered in Beaverton OR, CTL is a leader in Chrome hardware and services for the K-12 and enterprise markets. The Company distributes to a highly diverse customer base comprised of schools, districts, states, non-profits, and small to large companies. Since the Company’s founding in 1989, CTL has been a top partner to suppliers and customers with a strong track record of dependability, reliability, and consistency. For more information, please visit ctl.net.

About Columbia River Partners
Columbia River Partners is a private equity firm focused on control investments in lower-middle market companies in North America across the industrials, business services, and IT services sectors. Columbia River’s experienced team of investors and executives seek portfolio company value enhancement through rigorous implementation of transformative strategic initiatives and operational improvements. Columbia River Partners is based in Seattle and San Francisco. For more information, please visit www.columbiariverpartners.com.

Contacts
Pooneet Goel

320358@email4pr.com

Michael Mahanay
800-642-3087

320358@email4pr.com

SOURCE CTL