Publicly traded Huntington Bancshares has agreed to acquire middle-market investment bank Capstone Partners. Capstone’s investment banking services include mergers and acquisitions, capital advisory, financial advisory, special situations and restructuring. Capstone has more than 175 employees and is headquartered in Boston with additional offices in twelve cities including Denver, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York […]
Strategy
Aterian’s Vander-Bend Adds Medical Device Veteran
Vander-Bend Manufacturing, a maker of metal products used in the medical device sector and a platform company of Aterian Investment Partners, has added Brian King to its board of directors as executive chairman. Mr. King has a long and impressive medical device resume. He is the former president and CEO of private equity-owned Viant Medical, […]
The Whirlaway Market
Like a sprinting racehorse maintaining its stride on the last turn, middle-market M&A kept its pace as 2021 drew to the finish, according to GF Data’s just-released February report. Valuations in the fourth quarter averaged 7.5x, matching the elevated mark for Q3. GF Data’s 258 active private equity contributors reported on 151 transactions in the […]
Same As It Ever Was
Private deal activity in the second quarter continued to return to congenial pre-pandemic conditions with a handful of notable permutations, according to GF Data’s just-released report. The data tracking firm’s 243 active private equity contributors completed 81 transactions in the quarter meeting its deal parameters – Total Enterprise Value (TEV) of $10 million to $250 […]
Excellere Makes Move into Medical Device Sector
Excellere has partnered with executive Geoff Hall to pursue a buy-and-build strategy in the medical products sector. Mr. Hall has more than 20 years of experience in the medical products, diagnostics and life sciences sectors. Until November 2020, Mr. Hall was the CEO of California-based Pulse Systems, a provider of medical device prototyping and full-scale […]
Trilantic Ups Commitment to Brand Investor Sunrise
Sunrise Strategic Partners has announced new equity funding from its partner Trilantic North America. Boulder, Colorado-based Sunrise is an accelerator of brands in the healthy, active and sustainable food and beverage industry. The firm was founded in 2016 by natural foods entrepreneur Steve Hughes in partnership with Trilantic. Sunrise has invested in a range of […]
D.A. Davidson Buys Marlin, Creates Top 5 Middle Market Investment Bank
Investment bank D.A. Davidson has agreed to acquire Marlin & Associates, a technology-focused investment bank. Marlin & Associates is a provider of strategic and financial advice to buyers and sellers of financial technology, data, analytics companies. Sectors of specific focus include financial, insurance, banking and legal technology as well as governance, risk management, and compliance […]
Riverside Forms FlavorSum
The Riverside Company has formed FlavorSum as a holding company to consolidate its investments in National Flavors, Bonnie & Don Flavours, and GSB Flavor Creators. Riverside acquired National Flavors in March 2020 and closed its first add-on with the buy of Georgia-based GSB in July 2020, and its second add-on with the buy of Canada-based […]
Argosy Adds MD to Lead Healthcare Effort
Argosy Capital has formed Argosy Healthcare Partners (AHP) and has hired Paul Barrett as a managing director to lead the new investment strategy. AHP will make majority control investments, in partnership with founders and management teams, in healthcare companies that have from $1 million to $3 million of EBITDA. Prior to joining Argosy, from 2013 […]
KKR Forms Medical Device Platform
KKR has partnered with medical device executive Duke Rohlen to form Zeus Health to invest in medical device companies. The formation of Zeus, with $100 million of capital, continues a long-standing relationship between KKR and Mr. Rohlen. In March 2016, KKR invested in Spirox, a California-based ears, nose, and throat (ENT) device company, led by […]
Cascadia Forms “Industry 4.0” Practice
Cascadia Capital has formed a new investment banking practice dedicated to the robotics, automation, and artificial intelligence (RAAI) sectors. Cascadia’s RAAI practice has been formed in response to the Fourth Industrial Revolution – commonly referred to as “Industry 4.0” – the ongoing automation of traditional manufacturing and industrial practices, using modern smart technology. Sectors of […]
Creative Destruction: How PE Business Development May Change Forever
By Mark Gartner, Principal & Head of Investment Development, ClearLight Partners “Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.” – Pablo Picasso The pandemic is stress testing everything, and COVID-19 may finally kill several business development (BD) strategies already in decline. This isn’t great news because finding good deals at reasonable prices is […]
Berkshire Launches El Dorado Foods
Berkshire Partners has partnered with food executive Javier Vélez-Bautista to form El Dorado Foods. Mr. Vélez-Bautista now becomes the CEO of El Dorado and the new platform will be active acquiring Latin-inspired food and beverage brands. Mr. Vélez-Bautista was most recently the chief executive officer of Mission Foods, a producer of tortillas and other Mexican […]
Houlihan Lokey Expands in TMT With MVP Buy
Houlihan Lokey has agreed to acquire MVP Capital, an advisory firm specializing in the technology, media, and telecom (TMT) sector. MVP’s services include mergers and acquisitions advisory, capital raising, restructuring advisory, and valuations. The firm’s sectors of focus include fiber optics, cell towers, distributed antenna systems, wireless communication, data centers, cloud and managed services, and […]
Important Lessons Private Equity Sponsors Should Learn from Private Credit
Private equity will need to adapt and learn a few things to succeed and thrive in a post COVID-19 environment. By Ted Koenig, President & CEO, Monroe Capital – Private equity, in most cases, was left out in the cold from the CARES Act and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) – a victim of the SBA’s […]
PE Operating Pros Lead the Way
As private equity adapts to Covid-19, new research from McKinsey & Company illustrates how operating groups play a vital role in a downturn. The COVID-19 crisis has caused epochal disruptions to social and economic systems, posing a threat to lives as well as livelihoods. For private equity firms, which often own businesses in multiple industries […]
North Castle Looking Beautiful
North Castle Partners and True Beauty Capital, founded by Richard Gersten, have partnered to acquire and provide operating support to companies in the beauty and personal care sectors. Mr. Gersten was previously with North Castle from 1999 to 2007, and later, from 2007 to 2011 was with Catterton Partners. For the last 13 years, he […]
John K. Castle Defies Predictions, Thrives in Middle Market
Castle Harlan and independent affiliate Branford Castle last summer teamed up to acquire Sunless, a maker of suntanning equipment based in Macedonia, Ohio. Another new deal from Castle Harlan? That might have come as a surprise to the Fortune editor who wrote the erroneous July 2015 headline, “Castle Harlan to wind down.” The misleading story […]