Dakotah Direct Assets Bought By First Source Telemarketer Reorganized After Foreclosure Process

First Source Financial Inc. has purchased the assets of Dakotah Direct Inc. and the Spokane telemarketer has been reorganized.

Chief Operating Officer Sandy Taylor-Spring said the new organization, Dakotah Direct II LLC, will likely begin a major expansion in the area in the next few months.

“We’re able to start off with one entity that is in the mix that is positive,” she said of Chicago-based First Source. “They are working with us to grow the business.”

Dakotah Direct employs 725 in Spokane, Coeur d’Alene and Pasco, and a similar number in four call centers outside the region.

Taylor-Spring said the assets were purchased Monday out of foreclosure. First Source, a major backer of Dakotah Direct in recent years, was the sole bidder, although others expressed interest, she said. She declined to discuss terms of the deal.

BD Capital Partners, a subsidiary of Bankers Trust, had been the largest shareholder before the sale.

Taylor-Spring said the asset sale ended a period of financial uncertainty that began with the merger of Dakotah Direct with Genesis Teleserv Corp. in 1997.

Genesis, as anticipated, brought state-of-the-art technology into the company, she said, but not enough new business to carry the associated debt.

“It takes time to build the client base we’re trying to build,” Taylor-Spring said.

She said Dakotah Direct has been rebuilding its reputation in telemarketing the past six months, and now operates profitably.

“We’re very excited about the customers who are approaching us now,” she said, adding that inbound customer service traffic has come to exceed outbound calls.

Insurance-related business has also grown rapidly, she said.

Taylor-Spring said company officials expect new business later this spring will allow the company to hire at least 300 new employees.

The bulk of those will move into Dakotah’s center above The Bon department store in downtown Spokane. Other area centers include the company’s headquarters at Sinto and Mullan, the Airport Business Park, and Coeur d’Alene.

A center in Pasco provides bilingual services.

Taylor-Spring joined the company in February 1998 as vice president for finance and administration. She said the company wanted to centralize its financial management.

Previously, she had been chief financial officer at OxyFresh Worldwide Inc.