Growth Capital Investments in 2020

Merit Financial Group, a hybrid RIA based in Alpharetta, Georgia, received a strategic growth investment from Wealth Partners Capital Group (WPCG) and a group of supporting investors led by private equity firm HGGC. The capital and partnership will support Merit's organic growth and accelerate its M&A strategy to expand its national footprint and advisor partnerships; Merit's management entered into long-term employment agreements and the deal closed December 31, 2020.

Argosy Private Equity made a growth investment in Bionix, LLC, a Toledo-area (Maumee), Ohio manufacturer of disposable ear, nasal and wound care medical devices. The transaction — the first investment from Argosy's sixth lower middle market fund — will fund new product introductions, deeper sales-channel penetration and potential add-on acquisitions.

Recognize Partners, a technology-focused private equity platform, has made a strategic growth investment in Ciklum Group Limited, a UK-headquartered digital transformation and custom software services firm. The investment will see Recognize partner with Ciklum’s existing shareholders and management to support capability expansion and global growth across hi-tech, fintech and consumer end markets.

On December 28, 2020, private equity firm American Industrial Partners (AIP) invested $50 million (a combination of loan and equity) in Orizon Aerostructures to provide additional liquidity and support the company’s growth and long-term strategy. The capital will help Orizon expand capabilities across its advanced machining, processing and assembly operations for commercial and defense aerostructure platforms.

Bain Capital Tech Opportunities and HGGC made a minority/growth investment in Buildertrend, the Omaha-based provider of cloud construction management software, marking the company's first institutional financing. The capital will be used to accelerate growth through strategic acquisitions and to expand Buildertrend's product capabilities into payments, data analytics and contractor services; financial terms were not disclosed.

Adelis Equity Partners is acquiring shares from passive investors in Valamis Group Oy and providing growth capital to support the company's international expansion while management retains significant ownership. As part of the deal, Anders Böös will join Valamis' board as chairman; the transaction is subject to merger clearance and other closing conditions.

Funds advised by SK Capital Partners purchased approximately 42.4 million shares (just under 40% of outstanding shares) of Venator Materials PLC from Huntsman Corporation for about $100 million, with a 30-month option to buy Huntsman's remaining ~9.7 million shares at a specified strike price. The investment is a strategic growth-capital stake intended to support Venator's operational improvement and long-term growth as a standalone public company.

Waud Capital Partners has completed a growth capital partnership with The CE Shop, a Greenwood Village, Colorado–based digital provider of compliance-driven professional education. Waud will commit new equity to support The CE Shop's organic growth initiatives, enable a robust acquisition pipeline and help expand the company's presence into new end markets; management will remain meaningful shareholders and continue to run day-to-day operations. Terms were not disclosed.

H.I.G. Capital (through an affiliate) made a growth equity investment in KM2 Solutions to support the BPO provider’s continued expansion across the Caribbean and Latin America and to fund investments in next-generation customer experience technologies. The deal leaves KM2’s management team in control and aims to accelerate the company’s nearshore contact center growth into high‑growth markets.

IK Investment Partners’ Small Cap II Fund has agreed to invest in Valoria Capital, a Paris-headquartered acquisition platform of independent financial advisors founded by Romain Lefèvre. Financial terms were not disclosed; IK said the investment will support Valoria’s buy-and-build strategy and portfolio diversification (financing support was provided by Idinvest Partners).

Revelstoke Capital Partners, a Denver-based private equity firm, has made an investment in an affiliate of Family Care Center, an outpatient psychiatry provider based in Colorado Springs. The capital will support Family Care Center’s expansion of clinics and services to increase access to mental healthcare for active-duty service members, veterans, and surrounding communities.

Amulet Capital Partners (a healthcare-focused private equity firm) made a growth equity investment in SSI Strategy Holdings LLC, a Parsippany, New Jersey-based life sciences consulting firm, to accelerate the company’s growth and expand strategic services including a new Gene Therapy Accelerator. The capital will fund team expansion, adjacent service lines and potential tuck-in acquisitions; Simon Kennedy joined SSI Strategy's board in conjunction with the investment.

TriSpan’s Rising Stars platform made a strategic growth investment in Maman, a French‑themed café and bakery founded in 2014 with multi‑unit locations in New York and Toronto. The capital is intended to accelerate Maman’s expansion plans and scale the brand nationally and beyond; financial terms were not disclosed.

Thoma Bravo has made a strategic growth investment in Zipari, valuing the company at more than $500 million, and Zipari is combining with Healthx to create an end-to-end consumer experience (CX) platform for health insurance payers and TPAs. Zipari will remain led by Founder & CEO Mark Nathan and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York; the combined business will expand product capabilities and the customer base across payer and TPA markets.

UK private equity firm Livingbridge has made an investment in Dublin-headquartered communications and IT provider Welltel to support the company’s M&A programme, organic growth and infrastructure scaling. Welltel, founded in 2007 and led by CEO Ross Murray and Executive Chairman John Quinn, serves roughly 3,500 customers across enterprise and public sectors and has completed six prior acquisitions.

Austin-based private equity firm CenterGate Capital made an investment in Soroc Technology, an outsourced IT services provider headquartered in Woodbridge, Ontario. The capital injection is intended to support Soroc's growth and expansion of its service offering while founder and CEO Rudy Cheddie remains in leadership.

Northstar Capital has provided junior growth capital to Fresche Solutions, a Montreal-based software and services company focused on application modernization that is a portfolio company of American Pacific Group. The financing is intended to support Fresche's growth and APG's ongoing value-creation initiatives.

Pollen Street (PSC Fund IV) has made its first Fund IV investment in Pacific Fund Systems (PFS), the developer of the PFS‑PAXUS fund administration software platform. Pollen Street will join the founding shareholders and work with management to support PFS's next phase of growth, investing in product capability and business development (including expansion into markets such as the US).

Charterhouse Capital Partners has acquired an equity stake in Vermeg from Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, investing alongside Vermeg's founder and management who retain a shareholding. The investment will support Vermeg's continued organic growth and buy-and-build strategy to expand its software and digitalisation offerings for banking, insurance and wealth-management clients globally.

Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division has completed a significant investment in Inhabit IQ, joining existing backers Insight Partners, Greater Sum Ventures (GSV) and PSG. The capital will support Inhabit IQ's product innovation, growth acceleration and continued acquisition strategy while the current management team led by CEO Lisa Stinnett remains in place.

Brentwood Associates has made a strategic minority investment in Snooze, the Denver-based breakfast and brunch restaurant chain, joining existing investors Stripes and Alliance Consumer Growth. The undisclosed deal adds Brentwood partner Rahul Aggarwal to Snooze's board and aims to fund nationwide expansion of the 44-unit concept.

Granicus announced a joint investment in which Harvest Partners has joined existing investors Vista Equity Partners and K1 Investment Management to support the company’s continued growth. The investment will back Granicus’ cloud-based Civic Engagement Platform as it expands digital transformation offerings for federal, state and local government customers.

Crestline Investors made a minority equity investment in Broadvoice to provide growth capital to accelerate the company's expansion in the UCaaS and CCaaS markets. Broadvoice's existing leadership will retain a majority stake and continue to run operations while using Crestline's resources to scale product development and nationwide customer deployment.

Marlin Equity Partners has made a majority-control growth investment in StarCompliance, a Rockville, Maryland–based provider of employee compliance and regulatory technology, with existing investor Luminate Capital Partners retaining a minority stake. The capital will be used to accelerate product innovation and support StarCompliance's international expansion.

Private equity firm Corsair Capital made a strategic growth investment to combine Founders Insurance, Hutchinson Traylor Insurance, McGinty‑Gordon & Associates, and Waites & Foshee into Oakbridge Insurance Agency LLC. The combination creates a regional insurance brokerage platform serving Georgia and the Southeast with approximately 175 employees across 15 offices and will pursue organic growth and strategic acquisitions.

Tübingen-based SHS Gesellschaft für Beteiligungsmanagement mbH is making a minority growth investment from its SHS V fund in Swiss-German specialty drug company Develco Pharma. Develco, headquartered in Pratteln, Switzerland with ~125 employees and production in Schopfheim, Germany, develops and manufactures orally administered prolonged-release medicines and will use the investment to broaden its pipeline and expand capabilities.

Aceable, an Austin-based mobile-first education platform, closed a $50 million growth investment led by private equity firm HGGC. The capital will support Aceable’s expansion into new certification verticals, continued geographic rollout, and both organic and inorganic growth initiatives.

Owner Resource Group (through ORG Opportunity Fund III, LP and an affiliate) has invested in Bill Gosling Outsourcing, a Newmarket, Ontario-headquartered, technology-enabled business process outsourcing (BPO) provider. ORG will support the company's organic growth and pursue acquisitions to expand Bill Gosling’s footprint across North America and other global markets; Bill Gosling operates nine global facilities and employs over 2,100 people.

THI Investments, a family-owned investor, has made an equity investment into Corndel, the UK-based digital and management training provider. The growth capital will support Corndel’s expansion of programme offerings (including data and software development courses) and help scale its technology-enabled training and employment-focused initiatives.

Funds managed by Blackstone, led by Blackstone Growth (BXG), have made a significant minority investment in ISN (ISNetworld) at a valuation of over $2 billion. The capital will be used to support product innovation and expansion into new markets and geographies, with Blackstone becoming ISN's only outside stockholder while ISN remains employee-owned.

Syndigo, a Chicago-based provider of a SaaS product information management and syndication platform, announced a growth equity partnership with Summit Partners, with existing investor The Jordan Company participating. The investment will fund Syndigo's global expansion and continued development of its Content Experience Hub to better serve manufacturers, retailers and distributors worldwide.

Northstar Capital has made a junior capital investment in Vectair Systems, a portfolio company of Arcspring and Oxbow Industries. Northstar partnered with Convergent Capital to provide a one-stop debt facility and an equity co-investment to help the sponsors finance the transaction. Vectair, founded in 1990, supplies air care, sanitization and hygiene dispensers and refill solutions to janitorial and commercial customers across the UK, the US and globally.

Livingbridge has invested in two Australian general-practice groups, Better Medical and SmartClinics, combining them into a single platform with 64 clinics and around 450 doctors across Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria. The investment will support clinical quality, organic and acquisitive expansion across Australia while existing shareholders (including doctors, management and Genesis Capital) remain invested in the combined group.

Excel Sports Management received a strategic minority growth investment from Shamrock Capital to support the agency’s expansion in sports, media and brand marketing. Terms were not disclosed; Excel’s leadership (Jeff Schwartz, Casey Close and Mark Steinberg) will continue to run the agency and enlisted LionTree Advisors (financial) and Katten Muchin Rosenman (legal) on the transaction.

TA Associates has completed a significant growth investment in The Benecon Group, a Lititz, Pennsylvania-based developer and manager of self-funded medical benefit programs. Financing for the transaction was provided by funds managed by the Credit Group of Ares Management and Varagon Capital Partners; financial terms were not disclosed.

Blue Sea Capital has made a substantial growth investment to form Beacon Oral Specialists, a management services organization that will support Atlanta Oral & Facial Surgery (AOFS) and Bay Area Oral Surgery Management (BAOSM). The affiliation creates a national oral surgery platform spanning roughly 37 clinic locations and nearly 40 oral surgeons, enabling the surgeon-led practices to retain clinical roles while receiving centralized administrative, billing, IT and marketing support to accelerate growth.

Promus Equity Partners has made an investment in Anything Possible LLC (Anything Possible Brands), a Springfield, Missouri-based maker of fishing gear for children and recreational anglers. The founder Ralph Duda III will remain president; Promus said the capital will support organic growth, build operating capabilities and enable future acquisitions.

Thoma Bravo has completed a strategic growth investment in Venafi, the inventor and market leader in machine identity management, valuing the company at $1.15 billion. The capital will be used to accelerate Venafi's product innovation and global growth while existing investors TCV and Foundation Capital remain shareholders.

Aurora Capital Partners completed a growth investment in Premier Roofing, a Denver-based roofing service provider and vendor-managed network, to support the company's geographic expansion and acceleration of its multi-family segment. Premier operates six branches across Colorado, Nebraska, Missouri and Minnesota and will use the capital and Aurora's buy-and-build strategy to open additional locations and scale operations.

Enhanced Healthcare Partners (EHP) made a strategic (minority) growth investment in Hallmark Health Care Solutions, a SaaS provider of physician compensation and workforce management tools for health systems, academic medical centers and physician groups. EHP’s capital will support Hallmark’s R&D, product development and expansion of its customer base across health systems to address labor and staffing challenges.

Denver-based private equity firm Mountaingate Capital has made a strategic growth investment in Acceleration Partners LLC, a global partner and affiliate marketing services firm. The capital will support Acceleration Partners' organic growth and selective add-on acquisitions; CG Petsky Prunier served as exclusive financial advisor to Acceleration Partners.

Searchlight Capital Partners has made a strategic growth investment in Sightline Payments, establishing a post-money valuation of $525 million. Sightline management also participated as co-investors; the capital will support expansion of Sightline’s cashless payment and wallet solutions across gaming, sports betting, lottery and hospitality markets.

Charterhouse Capital Partners has agreed to make a minority investment in Lane Clark & Peacock LLP (LCP), partnering with LCP’s Partner group to acquire the minority stake held by Inflexion. LCP’s Partners will increase their own stake; the transaction is intended to support LCP’s continued organic growth and to accelerate expansion of its analytics and technology capabilities.

Funds advised by growth equity firm PSG made a significant, undisclosed investment in NoFraud, marking the fraud-prevention software company's first outside investment. PSG partners Adam Marcus and Govind Anand joined NoFraud's board as the investment will support product expansion and client acquisition.

Bregal Partners has completed a financing partnership with Lakeview Capital to invest in The Mochi Ice Cream Co., maker of My/Mo Mochi Ice Cream. The investment will support growth, product innovation and expanded retail distribution across the United States. Lakeview Capital remains the company's majority owner and will continue to partner with Bregal on the next phase of growth.

New Capital Partners (NCP), a Birmingham-based healthcare-focused private equity firm, has made a minority/growth investment in Healthfuse, a vendor performance and revenue-cycle vendor management company. Healthfuse’s founding management team will remain in place and will partner with NCP to enhance its data platform and accelerate growth across health systems and hospitals.

PeakEquity Partners led a minority growth investment in Grayshift, an Atlanta-area provider of mobile device digital forensics best known for its GrayKey solution. The capital will be used to accelerate sales and marketing, expand R&D and engineering, broaden product offerings, and increase global awareness; Tom Noonan (Chairman of TEN Holdings and founding partner at TechOperators) will work with Grayshift’s management at the board level.

Baird Capital has made a growth investment in HSP Group, a technology-enabled business services firm that provides finance, tax, legal and HR support to companies expanding internationally. The capital will help HSP Group launch and accelerate its operations and expand its service offerings across the US and Europe.

Serent Capital has made a growth investment in Procurement Partners, a Champaign, Illinois–based provider of a procure-to-pay (P2P) eProcurement platform serving healthcare providers. The investment will provide capital and Serent’s growth resources to help Procurement Partners scale its platform, expand its team, and reach more healthcare customers across the United States.

LDC has made a multi-million-pound minority growth investment in Foundation SP (FSP), a Reading-headquartered digital transformation and managed services provider. The funding will support FSP’s organic expansion of cloud, productivity, data and AI services, strengthen its management team and enable exploration of complementary acquisitions.