CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sterling Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm with more than $5 billion in assets under management, today announced the sale of Pacific Interpreters, a healthcare-focused provider of interpretation and translation services, to Language Line Services. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“Sterling Partners made significant investments in our team and infrastructure, allowing us to expand our customer base and grow revenues dramatically,” said Peter Harris, CEO of Pacific Interpreters. “In addition, Sterling supported our acquisition of Fluent Language Solutions last summer, which added complementary services and contributed to our overall success.” Following the close of the transaction, Scott Klein, CEO of Language Line Services, will lead the new combined company.

“Our investment in Pacific Interpreters demonstrates Sterling’s commitment to invest in market leading healthcare services companies that are both mission driven and drive efficiencies in the healthcare system,” said Garrick Rice, managing director at Sterling Partners and a Pacific Interpreters director. “Through close collaboration with the Pacific Interpreters executive team, we built on the company’s record of providing high quality language services focused on healthcare organizations across the U.S. by eliminating language barriers for Limited English Proficient individuals. Through these efforts, we executed multiple growth initiatives that led to a natural combination with Language Line.”

Pacific Interpreters was founded in 1992 and has provided comprehensive language services to healthcare customers. The company offers assistance for Limited English Proficient individuals by providing 24-hour telephonic interpreting in more than 200 languages, regional onsite interpretation, document translation and expert consulting.

About Sterling Partners
Sterling Partners is a private equity firm with a distinct point of view on how to build great companies. Founded in 1983, Sterling has invested billions of dollars, guided by the company's stated purpose: INSPIRED GROWTH™, which describes Sterling's approach to buying differentiated businesses and growing them in inspired ways. Sterling focuses on investing growth capital in small and mid-market companies in industries with positive, long-term trends – education, healthcare, and business services. Sterling provides valuable support to the management teams of the companies in which the firm invests through a deep and dedicated team of operations and functional experts based in the firm's offices in Chicago, Baltimore and Miami.

The people at Sterling believe in ideas and ideals, in people and partnerships that drive long-term success. For more information, please visit www.sterlingpartners.com.