L2 Capital Partners has sold its camping equipment platform Worldwide Camping to Clearview Capital.
L2 formed Worldwide Camping to acquire sister companies Insight 2 Design and Elevate in March 2018. Insight 2 Design is a product development company specializing in battery lighting and camping equipment, and Elevate, is a designer and manufacturer of camping equipment including tents, shelters, lights, outdoor furniture, and sleeping bags. Elevate sells its products primarily through online retailers under the company-owned brand Core Equipment.
Both Insight 2 Design and Elevate are headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, and together provide a full suite of camping equipment to the consumer market.
“L2 Capital was a great partner who truly understood the business from day one and helped us strategically scale the team and business to position the company for rapid growth,” said Worldwide Camping Co-CEO Nick Vaughn. “It has definitely been a win-win partnership, and we wish the L2 Capital team and its partners continued success.”
L2 Capital is a lower middle-market family office that makes control and minority investments in companies that have revenues from $10 million to $75 million and EBITDA from $2 million to $8 million. Sectors of interest include technology-enabled services; business services; e-commerce/direct marketing; consumer products; manufacturing; and environmental products. L2 was founded by Bob Levine in 2011 and is headquartered in the Philadelphia suburb of Devon, Pennsylvania.
“It has been a pleasure working with the leadership team of Worldwide Camping over the past several years to drive significant growth across the business, expand to new products and services, and increase market share across all of the product lines,” said Mr. Levine. “L2 believes that the company will continue to grow, and we wish them the best with their new partners.”
Clearview Capital invests from $15 million to $100 million of equity in companies that have from $4 million to $20 million of EBITDA. Sectors of interest include business services, consumer, healthcare services, manufacturing, and specialized distribution.
Clearview is currently making investments from Clearview Capital Fund IV LP which closed in July 2018 with $550 million of capital. The firm was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Stamford with an additional office in Los Angeles.
TM Capital was the financial advisor to Worldwide Camping and Troutman Pepper provided legal services.
© 2022 Private Equity Professional | February 23, 2022
O2 Investment Partners has made an investment in communications and advertising firm BerlinRosen.
“Our partnership with O2 will allow us to pursue opportunities for organic and inorganic growth in new verticals, geographies and services to deliver greater impact at a greater scale for our clients,” said Ms. Berlin and Mr. Rosen in a released statement. “We are taking an expansive approach led by what clients need to effectively understand, reach and move their audience to take action – from deeper investments in data and analytics to brand strategy, expanded creative studio and more.”
“By bringing together a deep understanding of the rapidly changing landscape of issues confronting leaders, organizations and brands every day – and the acuity to anticipate shifts in culture reshaping the marketplace, BerlinRosen is reinventing the agency model for the 21st century,” said Sean Darin, a vice president at O2. “At O2, we invest in companies that have a culture of seeking innovation as key to sustainable growth, and we are thrilled to partner with the entire BerlinRosen team to build on their industry-leading approach to communications and realize their significant potential across their expanding team and client base.”
Industrial Opportunity Partners (IOP) has sold its portfolio company Midwest Paper Group to McKinley Paper Company. IOP acquired Midwest Paper in December 2019.
During IOP’s hold period, Dave Mackin, an IOP operating principal, served as Midwest Paper’s CEO. “We’re pleased with what the company accomplished during IOP’s ownership period,” said Mr. Mackin. “The Midwest Paper team successfully executed IOP’s investment operating plan which included commercial initiatives and operational improvements that turned a once struggling paper mill into a thriving business.”
“We’re proud to have invested in a company that we believe advances environmentally friendly products, and we would like to thank the entire management team and workforce at Midwest Paper for their commitment and efforts throughout the company’s partnership with IOP,” said IOP Managing Director Kyle Hood. “We believe Midwest Paper is poised for continued success under Bio Pappel’s ownership.”
OceanSound Partners has closed its debut fund, OceanSound Partners Fund LP (Fund I), with $780 million of committed capital. The fund’s initial target was $550 million.
“The closing of our first fund marks a tremendous milestone for OceanSound and validates our differentiated investment strategy together with our team’s capabilities,” said Mr. Benavides. “We started the firm shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic and could not be more pleased with all we have accomplished. We are extremely grateful for the support of our investors, who include some of the most respected institutional private equity investors. Their support underscores our ability to identify attractive investment opportunities where we have proprietary perspectives and can bring significant resources to build businesses that outperform their peers.”
Broad Sky Partners has acquired laboratory supply and scientific equipment distributor Thomas Scientific from Carlyle Group which purchased the business in 2017.
“We are proud of our partnership with the world-class management team at Thomas Scientific to transform the business from a leading regional to a leading national player, with a comprehensive product offering, excellent customer service and reliable supply chain serving both small and large labs,” said Carlyle Managing Director Vipul Amin. “Undoubtedly, Thomas is uniquely positioned to continue to expand its market presence.”
GenNx360 Capital Partners has invested in contract packaging company Nutra-Med Packaging.
New York City-based 
“The team at Nutra-Med has built a strong packaging services platform achieving outsized growth while maintaining a strong commitment to quality and customer delivery in an industry that GenNx360 believes to be very attractive,” said Rishi Verma, a principal at GenNx360.
London-based 
“Our goal has always been to offer our clients the best solutions and support, so we strategically and selectively seek to join forces with acquisition partners that align to our goals and those of our customers,” said Sam Toulson, chief executive officer of BigHand. “We look to add significant value for our customers, and that’s what makes this acquisition very exciting. The addition of Iridium gives our clients an opportunity to access a vast amount of data that will enable their firms to move from the practice of law to the business of law.”
“With two successful exits and a portfolio of world-class brands, Sunrise remains well-positioned to continue identifying and accelerating brands in the better-for-you food and beverage space,” said Jamie Manges, a partner at Trilantic. “We look forward to the next phase of our partnership, supporting the next generation of extraordinary founders and scaling their businesses to become category leaders.”
“Joining Sunrise allows me to live my passion of helping founders and management teams scale their business and create tremendous value,” said Mr. Burns. “Millennial consumers are driving a massive shift from legacy brands to emerging brands that are better aligned with their values. I’m excited to join Sunrise because we are uniquely positioned to partner with these disruptive brands and provide the tools and expertise needed to capitalize on this shift in the industry.”
New York City-based Trilantic invests from $100 million to $300 million of equity in North American companies with enterprise values of $100 million to $1.5 billion. The firm was formed in 2009 by former members of Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking and has raised six private equity funds totaling $9.7 billion in capital commitments
