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Investment Focus

Generations of keenly-focused investing experience.

We have held an extensive amount of investments in North America across multiple industries for more than 90 years. We bring more than just capital. We provide value and long-term growth. We often invest significantly more beyond our initial investment in support of existing portfolio companies as they pursue aggressive acquisition and/or growth strategies.

Investment Focus

Control acquisitions or significant minority investments
Headquarters in North America

Buyout

~$5 - $20 Million

Revenue (Vertical Software)

~$5 - $30 Million

EBITDA (Industrial Products and Services, Opportunistic)

~$25 - $125 Million

Initial Investments*

Growth Equity

~ $5 – $20 Million

Revenue

Breakeven or Greater

EBITDA

~ $10 – $50 Million

Initial Investments*

* We have the flexibility to invest more for particularly attractive new opportunities and in support of high-growth businesses.

Industry Focus

Within each well-defined sector, our team has developed long-term views on industry trends, a broad network, and extensive knowledge that allows us to quickly identify the best opportunities and to add value after the initial investment.

Click through to see our areas of focus.

Industrial Products and Services

Vertical Software

Opportunistic Investments

Creating Value

The businesses we invest in are typically in some stage of transformation resulting from the pursuit and realization of significant growth. We know both the challenges and opportunities that come with executing such transformations, and we strive to be true partners to great leadership teams throughout that journey. We are intentional about empowering our leadership teams to lead the business day-to-day, and we strive to be a force multiplier in those efforts. We support our teams across several key areas:

  • Active Board Involvement

    We are actively engaged board members. We do not merely attend meetings looking to get a readout. Rather, we think deeply and work collaboratively with our management teams to develop winning strategies and provide the resources needed to execute those strategies. We aim to provide a fresh perspective and insights that help management make the best decisions and deliver the best results. We are willing to both support at a 50k foot level or a tactical level, depending on whatever is needed to get to the best outcome.

  • Operational Excellence

    We work closely with our management teams to build best-in-class businesses. Whether the focus is on revenue growth, cost optimization or overall operational efficiency, we have the combination of internal resources and expertise as well as access to proven relationships to deliver industry-leading performance. With a long history and deep experience transforming businesses at all stages of their life cycle, we have developed insights and processes to address the most complex problems.

    Our management teams are often seeking support in three key areas, and we aim to provide that support:

    THOUGHT PARTNERSHIP AND SPECIALIZED (FUNCTION OR INDUSTRY) EXPERTISE. Our PortCo leaders are a combination of both functional and domain experts, but no one is an expert in all things. Thus, we often act as a compliment to the skills resident on the management team. For areas which there is not deep expertise, we serve as a sounding board. For the areas that management has less expertise, we can supplement that expertise and help fill the need.

    CONNECTIONS TO RESOURCES. We often hear: “We would like to do XYZ. Do you know the right 3rd parties that can support”? The answer is usually yes, and if not, we will help find the right 3rd parties and ensure the engagements are executed well.

    PROJECT EXECUTION BANDWIDTH. Leaders in mid-market businesses are typically required to wear many hats and are juggling many priorities. We strive to provide SG resources that expand the bandwidth of our management teams and allow them to go further, faster, and accomplish more.

    The support of project execution can take several forms (depending on the project):

    • Launching: Defining a strong project scope, identifying the right resources, and coordinating the initial project logistics are often time-consuming exercises. We support our teams by helping provide that legwork and getting projects off to a great start.
    • Overseeing: In addition to launching projects, we often team up with the executive sponsor to ensure a given project succeeds. This typically occurs when 3rd parties are involved, and the project is critically important and has a lot of complexity. Our team of ex-consultants is a dedicated resource to ensure we get the most out of 3rd parties and deliver projects successfully.
    • Supporting: Sometimes projects require deeper support than just oversight. In these scenarios, members of our team will assist in the daily execution of projects.  This often takes the form of project management, analytics support, solution development, training, etc. In this scenario, there is a Project Lead at the PortCo and the SG team supports with incremental resources.
    • Leading: Selectively – typically when the PortCo does not have the capabilities. We will also act as the Project Lead to help guide a project to completion. This is typically an interim state as we are developing those capabilities within the PortCo team. Projects in this category are typically highly analytical and technological… and short-term in nature.
  • Network Access

    Over time, we have built broad networks accessible to our management partners. We readily connect our teams to other senior leaders, industry professionals and subject matter experts. Close collaboration with these resources ensures high levels of attention and a refined process for engaging in value-creating change.

  • Capital Markets Knowledge

    The businesses in which we invest commonly haven’t considered all their financing alternatives. We help each business optimize its capital structure, finding a balance between the right amount of risk and flexibility needed for growth. At each stage of the investment, we ensure that our financing partners also view our portfolio companies as true business partners. Facilitating access to capital markets to drive the best terms and conditions possible is just one way we can help.

  • Strategic Acquisition Leadership

    We leverage our decades of M&A and origination expertise to drive buy-and-build strategies. We help codify each business’s inorganic growth strategy, identify and prioritize targets, and then work to implement a programmatic, process-driven approach to pursuing, acquiring and integrating complementary businesses. Ultimately, our aim is to institutionalize the M&A process in each business, creating a foundation to drive value well into the future.

Learn more about who we are

History

History

For more than 90 years we’ve partnered with entrepreneurs and management teams to build exceptional businesses with long-term, sustainable value. We continue the Stephens family heritage and legacy. Our past is our future.
Team

Team

Our group has an unparalleled history of successful private investing and is led by a team of top-tier senior investment and operating professionals working alongside the Stephens family.
Mission

Mission

We continue to build on our heritage and legacy. We live by a “do right” standard that we learned from our founders.