Huron Capital Partners has launched a new group to pursue minority investments in lower middle market companies. Heading the new effort – called “Flex Equity” – are Douglas Sutton and Charles Sheridan who joined Huron Capital in January 2016 after 13 years at BMO Private Equity. At BMO, the pair led a similar investment approach focused on the lower middle-market.
“The Flex Equity strategy fills a void in the lower middle-market for flexible, custom-tailored minority-equity solutions and we’re extremely bullish on the opportunity,” said Mr. Sutton. “We have the unique ability to stay laser-focused on less-than-majority investments, while tapping Huron’s experience, reach and reputation to build what we expect will be a sizable portfolio of investments.”
Huron Capital’s current strategy is to invest up to $70 million per transaction in companies that have revenues from $20 million to $200 million and EBITDAs of $5 million or more. Sectors of interest include business services, consumer products & services, specialty manufacturing and healthcare. The Flex Equity strategy will serve as an extension of this franchise and will use the firm’s existing infrastructure, operational resources and investment processes.
“We feel we’ve assembled an all-star team to take advantage of this great market opportunity in structured equity. We plan to capitalize on our firm’s depth of experience in the lower middle-market, particularly our extensive deal sourcing and operational resources,” said Brian Demkowicz, Managing Partner at Huron Capital. “Our Flex Equity strategy is a natural extension of our business and I believe strengthens Huron Capital’s position as a leader in lower middle-market private equity.”
“We have a long history with Doug and Charlie dating back to 2003 and have been impressed with their investment track record and level of deal flow. We’ve teamed up with them on ten Huron Capital transactions and have reviewed dozens of other opportunities together. We have high confidence in their fit with our culture and investment philosophy,” said Michael Beauregard, Senior Partner at Huron Capital.
Since inception, Huron Capital has acquired 112 companies, including 35 platform companies and 77 add-on acquisitions, representing over $1.5 billion in combined transaction value. The firm was founded in 1999 and has offices in Detroit and Toronto (www.huroncapital.com).
© 2016 Private Equity Professional • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 4-12-16
