Although every company’s circumstances present uniquely complex opportunities, our portfolio has a singular focus: growth in shareholder value. Please select an investment sector below to learn more about our portfolio companies in each of our primary sectors.
American Residential is a national residential mortgage company focused on the Western U.S. The company originates loans through both wholesale and retail production.
American Residential went public in 1993 (NASDAQ: AMRS) and was acquired by Chase Manhattan (NYSE: JPM) in 1994.
AMN Healthcare is a temporary healthcare staffing company. The company recruits and places traveling nurses and allied health professionals on temporary assignment at hospitals and healthcare facilities across the country.
AMN went public in 2001 (NYSE: AHS).
AmSpec is a leading provider of testing, inspection, and certification (“TIC”) services for petroleum traders and refiners. The Company operates a network of more than 50 laboratories and inspection facilities across North America, South America, Europe, and Asia.
Ann's House of Nuts is a leading manufacturer of private label and branded, snack nut and trail mix products to the retail and grocery channels.
The Company was sold in November 2010.
Ariel Re is a Class 4 Bermuda property and casualty reinsurance company with over $1 billion of equity capital. Ariel was formed in 2005 in response to the reinsurance capacity shortage caused primarily by Hurricane Katrina.
The company was sold in April 2012 to Goldman Sachs and subsequently changed its name to Arden Holdings.
Aspen Re is a leading, worldwide property and casualty reinsurance underwriter. The company has operations in London and Bermuda.
The company went public in 2003 (NYSE: AHL).
Founded in 1929, Centerplate, Inc. serves as a leading provider of event hospitality services to premier sports facilities, convention centers, and entertainment venues across North America and the UK. Centerplate’s primary services include: food and beverage / catering services, specialty retail management, and design services across over 300 venues and serving 115 million guests annually. Centerplate is an integral partner to clients across a broad list of end markets, including: professional sports, convention centers, college athletics, ski resorts, minor league sports, zoos/aquariums, and theaters, among others. As a testament to Centerplate’s premier event hospitality offering, the Company has hosted some of the country’s most prestigious events, including Super Bowls, World Series, and presidential inaugural balls.
Churchill Financial Group is a leading commercial finance and asset management company focused on providing senior secured financing to middle market companies backed by leading private equity firms.
In November 2011, Churchill sold its loan management operation but retained the equity in the CLO, which has been in run-off since July 2014.
Client Distribution Services (CDS) provides value added distribution services to independent publishers and authors. The company's service offering includes sales, billing/credit/collections, fulfillment, publishing, and returns processing.
CDS was acquired by Perseus Books Group in 2005.
Club Staffing provides traveling allied health professionals to the healthcare industry. The company provides its recruiting and staffing services to hospitals and healthcare facilities nationwide.
The Company was sold in 2006 to Nursefinders, Inc. and is now a subsidiary of AMN Healthcare.
CountryBanc provides commercial banking services to medium sized businesses and retail customers, with a focus on agricultural, livestock, and real estate lending. The company was a platform to consolidate community banks with dominant market positions in the Southwestern U.S.
Eldorado Bancshares provides commercial banking services to medium sized businesses and retail customers. The company was a platform to consolidate community banks in Southern California.
The company went public in 1999 (NASDAQ: ELBI). It merged with Zions Bancorporation (NASDAQ: ZION) in 2001.
Ennis-Flint is a leading global provider of pavement markings and traffic safety solutions. With a diverse customer base of private contractors, government agencies and independent distributors, Ennis-Flint supplies a wide range of products including: traffic paint, hot-applied and preformed thermoplastic, raised pavement markers and intelligent transportation systems from a network of 20 manufacturing facilities on four continents.
FFR Merchandising, Inc. (“FFR”) is a leading North American designer, marketer, and value-added supplier of merchandising, loss prevention, and operational efficiency solutions, primarily to retailers and consumer packaged goods companies. Since its founding nearly 50 years ago, FFR has steadily evolved from a catalog distributor of retail fasteners and components to a full-service supplier that offers a suite of merchandising solutions across the entire store footprint. The Company’s direct sales team and customer service organization have built relationships with leading retailers in the supermarket, chain-drug, mass merchant, and dollar store sectors.
FrontierVision is a provider of basic cable subscription services to customers in rural areas within New England, Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and other states. The company increases the value of its cable properties by selectively upgrading systems and improving operational performance.
FrontierVision was sold to Adelphia Communications in 1999.
G.E.T. Enterprises is the leading provider of creative tabletop solutions crafted from melamine and alternative materials. For over 3 decades, G.E.T. has pioneered break-resistant dinnerware, servingware, drinkware, and custom designs that serve commercial foodservice needs while enhancing tabletop presentations. G.E.T. offers operators the ideal alternatives to ceramic, glass, and disposables through an expansive portfolio of thousands of items. G.E.T.'s versatile products have the look and feel of traditional materials with longer service lives, reduced liability, and fewer replacement expenses. G.E.T. products are used everywhere from restaurants, hotels, casinos, colleges and universities, nightclubs, cruise lines, and other foodservice providers.
Global Link Logistics is a third party logistics company. The company provides international freight forwarding and customs brokerage services, primarily to U.S. manufacturers.
The company was sold to Golden Gate Logistics in June 2006.
Homax is a leading supplier of branded, specialty-application consumer products to the home-care and repair markets, providing solutions for tasks such as drywall texturing and repair, specialty cleaning, pest control, odor elimination, and surface preparation. The Company's brands have historically included Homax, Goo Gone, Magic, Black Flag, Natural Magic, and Stone Care International.
Homax spun-out its Insecticide Division in 2011 (NYSE: SPB), divested its Cleaning Division in 2014 to Weiman Products and sold the remaining Interior Finishing Division in July 2014 to PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE: PPG)
IXS is a leading provider of upfit services and accessories to the automotive aftermarket and original equipment manufacturers. Its aftermarket division, operating under the brand Line-X, is the global leader in protective coatings for pick-up truck beds, with over 450 franchise locations in the U.S. and Canada and licensees in over 50 countries. Its OEM division, operating as Ground Effects, provides protective coatings for pick-up truck beds as well as a wide range of other upfit services and exterior accessories to automotive manufacturers through a network of 15 co-located facilities across North America.
K-MAC is a leading YUM! franchisee, operating over 180 Taco Bell and KFC restaurants in Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. The company also operates Golden Corral restaurant franchises in Arkansas and Missouri.
The Company was sold in March 2011.
Liqui-Box is a leading global player in the bag-in-box industry that designs and supplies liquid packaging systems to meet filling and dispensing needs across numerous end markets, including dairy, beverage, food and wine. The Company's core offering features a wide range of consumable bags, films and related fitments / connectors, which are supported by a global installed base of proprietary filling machines.
Lyft is a privately held American transportation network company (TNC) based in San Francisco. The company's mobile-phone application facilitates peer-to-peer ridesharing by connecting passengers who need a ride with drivers who have a car.
Meridian Rail Services is a leading provider of outsourced services to the railroad industry. The company provides wheel set maintenance, component reconditioning, and railcar repair services to Class I railroads, shortline railroads, and private railcar owners.
Meridian was acquired by The Greenbrier Companies (NYSE: GBX) in 2006
Nebraska Book is one of the country's largest wholesalers of used college textbooks and manager of off-campus college bookstores. The company sells textbooks to more than 2,500 college bookstores across the U.S., renting and selling more than 8 million textbooks annually.
Nebraska Book was sold in 1998.
Norwesco is a leading manufacturer of polyethylene tanks, primarily for agricultural, water, and below-ground septic applications.
Subsequent to the acquisition of Norwesco in 2008, it was merged with Olympus’ investment in Snyder Industries. The combined company, Tank Holdings Corp., was sold in 2012.
NPC is the largest Pizza Hut franchisee and the 9th largest restaurant unit operator in the United States. The company operates over 1,250 Pizza Hut units, representing 20% of the domestic Pizza Hut system, in 28 states with significant presence in the Midwest, South and Southeast. Beginning in July 2013, NPC also began acquiring Wendy’s restaurants, and operates over 140 Wendy’s units across 5 states. NPC is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas and employs over 29,000 nationwide. For more information, please see the Company’s public SEC filings.
Pennant is the fifth largest franchisee of Wendy's quick service restaurants. The company operates approximately 90 restaurants in Southern California and Eastern Tennessee.
Pennant was sold in March 2003.
Pepper Dining is the second largest franchisee of Chili's Grill and Bar restaurants. The company operates over 100 restaurants across 10 states in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, and Southeast regions. Founded in 2007, Pepper Dining is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina and employs over 6,000 people nationwide.
Petmate is a leading supplier of a wide variety of non-food pet products to prominent retailers. The Company’s diverse product line includes crates and carriers, outdoor shelters, feeding and watering, and a wide selection of innovative toys. The Company’s portfolio of branded toys and licensed products includes ChuckIt!®, JW Pet®, and Jackson Galaxy® which lead the industry in innovative interactive products. Petmate serves the market through a multi-channel approach which includes big box pet retailers, mass merchandisers, major e-commerce retailers, farm and ag stores, and specialty pet stores. The Company designs, manufactures and distributes its diverse product offering from its facility in Arlington, Texas.
Pharma Marketing was established to fund the marketing of drugs owned by Elan Corporation (NYSE: ELN) that had recently received FDA approval.
Elan Corporation completed the purchase of the royalty rights for all drugs from Pharma in 2003.
Phoenix Services International LLC (“Phoenix”) is a leading provider of outsourced industrial services to primarily steel mills. Services include slag handling, scrap management, metal recovery, in-plant logistics, and equipment rental services. The company’s customers include several of the largest steel manufacturers in the world such as ArcelorMittal, US Steel, Nucor, Gerdau Ameristeel, Steel Dynamics, and ThyssenKrupp, among others.
PLZ Aeroscience Corporation (“PLZ”) formulates, blends, fills and packages more than 1,100 branded and private label consumable, staple products such as cleaning agents, disinfectants, air fresheners, polishes, adhesives, lubricants, insecticides and other industrial aerosol products. The Company’s R&D expertise, engineering capabilities, and customer inventory management have allowed it to compete in both the short and high-run filling segments. PLZ supplies its products through four channels: custom filling, personal care, distribution and retail.
Pregis is a leading manufacturer, marketer and supplier of innovative protective packaging products and solutions to a variety of industries in North America. The Company’s broad product offering is comprised of air systems, paper systems, cohesive packaging, films, bubble wrap, foam, and other related materials. In addition to these products, Pregis sells consumable materials to a large and growing installed base of its proprietary packaging systems. The Company serves a range of end-markets including eCommerce, electronics, retail, consumer, industrials, automotive, and caters to a customer base of approximately 2,000 distributors supplying 9,000+ “ship to” locations. Pregis currently employs approximately 900 personnel across 13 manufacturing facilities and 4 warehouse locations in North America.
Prime Advantage is a demand aggregator for small and mid-sized industrial manufacturers and distributors. The company leverages the combined purchasing power of its customers to obtain superior prices and customer service in the procurement of direct materials and logistics services.
Prime Advantage was sold to Newgistics in June 2007.
The Princeton Review is a leading provider of post-secondary test preparation products and services.
The company went public in 2001 (NASDAQ: REVU) and now operates as a subsidiary of Tutor.com
PSAV is the largest third‐party provider of event technology services to hotels, convention centers, conference centers, corporations, production companies and trade associations in North America, Europe and the Middle East. The Company provides a broad spectrum of services ranging from traditional AV services, such as video, audio and technical support, to staging and creative services for large corporate events and facility based extensions, such as high speed internet access and power distribution. PSAV supports events across a footprint of more than 1,400 worldwide properties where it serves as the exclusive on-site AV provider.
Founded in 1881, Professional Service Industries (“PSI”) is a nationally recognized inspection and testing firm providing integrated services in several disciplines, including geotechnical engineering, construction materials testing and engineering, non-destructive testing, facilities engineering and consulting, environmental consulting, asbestos management and industrial hygiene. The company is the largest provider of construction materials testing services in the United States and a top 3 provider of geotechnical engineering services domestically. PSI serves a variety of end markets and clients, including public works, institutional, office, retail, utilities, manufacturing/industrial, hotel/housing, and oil & gas. PSI has approximately 2,000 employees across 85 locations in 32 states.
The RiteDose Corporation, Inc. is a contract pharmaceutical manufacturer that employs Blow-Fill-Seal (“BFS”) technology, a process where a container is formed, filled, and sealed in a continuous process inside a sterile, enclosed machine. The company specializes in manufacturing inhalation products, eye drops, ear drops, and unit dose oral liquids.
Shemin is a leading distributor of horticultural and irrigation products to the professional landscaping industry through 29 locations across the United States.
Shemin was sold in January 2013.
Snyder Industries is a leading polyethylene and steel tank manufacturer serving the agricultural, industrial, oil and gas, and septic markets in North America.
Following the acquisition of Snyder Industries in 2008, it was subsequently merged with Norwesco and the combined entity, Tank Holding Corp., was sold in 2012.
Symmetry Medical is a manufacturer of high precision instruments, cases, and implant components for orthopedic surgery. The company sells its products to the major orthopedic implant OEMs such as Johnson & Johnson, Zimmer, and Smith & Nephew.
Symmetry Medical went public in 2004.
Based in Bermuda, Talbot is the parent of a specialty insurance group operating within the Lloyd's insurance market. Talbot focuses on underwriting a number of specialty risks and has particularly strong franchises in marine, energy, war, political, direct property, and financial institutions risks.
The company was sold to Validus Holdings (NASDAQ: VR) in July 2007.
Tanenbaum-Harber Holdings is comprised of Tanenbaum-Harber, one of the largest corporate insurance brokerage and risk management services firms within the Tri-State area, and Thesco Benefits, one of the leading benefits brokerage specialists in the Tri-State area.
The company was sold to Alliant Insurance Services, Inc. in December 2010.
Tempest Re writes property catastrophe reinsurance on a worldwide basis. The company was created in October 1993 in response to the dislocation of the catastrophe reinsurance market following Hurricane Andrew
ACE (NYSE: ACE) acquired Tempest Re in 1996.
TravelCenters of America (TA) is the largest full-service travel center network in the United States. The company serves professional drivers and motorists, offering fuel, convenience store items, restaurants, and lodging.
TA was acquired by Hospitality Properties Trust, a publicly traded REIT, and the operating company was spun out as a separate, publicly traded company in 2007 (AMEX: TA).
The Waddington Group is a leading manufacturer and marketer of premium rigid plastic and eco-friendly food service disposables. The Company has 17 operating plants in 12 cities across the United States, Canada and Europe. Waddington has a track record of product innovation, technological expertise, and successful acquisitions. The Company serves over 3,700 customers in the catering, institutional foodservice, bakery, produce, retail and consumer markets.
Woodcraft is the premier supplier of doors and components to leading OEMs in the kitchen and bathroom cabinet industry. The company supplies a comprehensive array of hardwood and engineered wood products, including doors, face frames, moldings, drawer fronts, and other components for kitchen and bathroom cabinets. Operating across 13 manufacturing facilities in North America, Woodcraft serves the stock, semi-custom, and custom segments of the cabinet market. Woodcraft is headquartered in St. Cloud, Minnesota with ~1,500 employees companywide.