J.W. Childs Associates (JWC) has announced that it is changing its name to Prospect Hill Growth Partners.
Despite the name change, there are no changes to the firm’s senior staff and, as it has been over the past decade, the firm will continue to be led by Adam Suttin, managing partner, and David Fiorentino, Jeff Teschke and Bill Watts, partners. These four individuals have invested $2.7 billion of capital in 35 portfolio companies while working together over the last two decades and will continue to lead the firm. Prospect Hill Growth Partners will manage two investment funds established by JWC, which include majority interests in nine companies acquired since 2015.
The name change follows last month’s retirement of the firm’s co-founder and chairman John Childs. Mr. Childs established J.W. Childs Associates in 1995 and led the organization in its first three funds and many profitable investments, such as Beltone Electronics, Universal Hospital Services and Meow Mix. Before founding JWC, Mr. Childs was a senior managing director at THL where he led the investment in Snapple Beverage, considered by many to be among the most successful leveraged buyouts in the industry. Before THL, Mr. Childs was a senior managing director at Prudential Insurance in its capital markets group.
“John built an enduring and strong business and we appreciate his many contributions to JWC,” said Adam Suttin, managing partner. “I look forward with confidence to the next chapter for our firm and wish John well.”
“While our name is new, Prospect Hill Growth Partners will continue to operate under the leadership of David, Jeff, Bill and myself and our experienced team,” added Mr. Suttin. “We have deep expertise in consumer and healthcare investing and will continue to work with founders, entrepreneurs and management teams to accelerate growth and provide guidance in navigating the challenges of expansion strategies.”
Phil Damiano, Joe Fortunato, Dr. Mitchell Eisenberg and Dr. Lewis Gold remain as operating partners to provide operational insights and strategic guidance to the management teams of Prospect Hill’s portfolio companies.
Prospect Hill makes equity investments of $25 million to $100 million in companies that have revenues of $50 million to $300 million and EBITDA of $5 million to $25 million. Sectors of interest include consumer products, specialty retail and healthcare services.
In September 2018, the firm acquired Walker Edison, a supplier of ready-to-assemble furniture to global e-commerce platforms. Walker Edison’s products include living room furniture, home office furniture, bedroom furniture, dining furniture, and outdoor and patio furniture. Walker Edison sells its products through e-commerce and traditional retailers. The company was founded in 2006 and is based in Salt Lake City (www.walkeredison.com).
Prospect Hill is based in the Boston suburb of Waltham, MA (www.phgrowth.com).
© 2019 Private Equity Professional | March 26, 2019
