‘There comes a time when it’s best to pass the baton to someone else,’ Kearney said. ‘In this case, it’s a private equity company.’
A global private equity firm headquartered in Miami has acquired Tallahassee-based Mainline Information Systems, founded by local tech entrepreneur Rick Kearney.
Kearney said H.I.G. Capital plans to invest hundreds of millions of dollars into Mainline, adding that it would be “just too much for me as an individual to try to grow at that pace.” The amount and terms of the sale were not disclosed.
“I’ve been doing it for 35 years, and the company’s not going anywhere. It’s going to continue for, hopefully, another 100 years,” said Kearney, who served as Mainline’s chairman before the sale. “There comes a time when it’s best to pass the baton to someone else. In this case, it’s a private equity company.”
Generally, such firms invest money from high-net-worth individuals and other sources in privately held companies, that is, those not publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange or other open markets, according to Investopedia.
Mainline specializes in a host of services that includes cyber security and networking, cyber storage, hybrid cloud and end-to-end IT services.
Rick Kearney started as software engineer
In 1998, Kearney worked for six years as a software engineer for IBM before launching a nonprofit called Good News Outreach and then the for-profit Mainline Information Systems.
Mainline has grown its annual sales to exceed $1 billion to Fortune 100 companies in the U.S. and Brazil and has more than 400 employees nationwide, including those who work at its headquarters in the Summit East Technology Park near Mahan Drive and Interstate 10.
With H.I.G.’s investment, Kearney said the company could double or triple its annual sales.
The transaction allows the 65-year-old Kearney to begin a new chapter: He’s now majority owner of MIS Security, an advanced threat detection company that he says will be as “big and successful as Mainline.”
First launched in 2006, MIS Security developed a patented sensor technology that was originally designed for the military.
“It detects guns and knives and other forms of weapons, like bullets, without you having to empty your pockets and people rummaging through your diaper bag or whatever,” Kearney said. “We rebuilt the product from the ground up and really just released it to the market this year, and we’re taking it slow.”
Kearney said the company’s technology is being used at Brightline transit stations, a mall in Miami and tribal casinos in California, among others. In Tallahassee, the company donated a metal detector to Leon County Schools.
Keeping a focus on homeless in Tallahassee and elsewhere
Another venture he’s leading will use an artificial intelligence-driven case management app aimed at the homeless population. Kearney plans to launch that soon.
“Whether you’re staying at a homeless center or you’re living in the woods or in your car, whatever you need, you just tell the app,” Kearney said. “You can say, ‘Hey, I need a toothbrush,’ or ‘I need some bug spray.’ And, within so many hours or minutes, it’s brought to you.”
He said he’s in talks with Florida State University to work in partnership with this new venture. In addition, Kearney said 10 volunteer clients at his namesake homeless shelter off West Pensacola Street will be the first to try the app.
“We have a closet (at the shelter), we’ll just get it from our storage closet to them. But if it’s DoorDash or Uber Delivery or whatever, we’ll get it to them,” Kearney said.
Contact Economic Development Reporter TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com and follow @TaMarynWaters on X.
