INVESTMENT CRITERIA
What We Look For
We focus on a specific corner of the lower-middle market. Specialty chemicals, industrials and industrial services, and essential B2B services, with $2.5M–$12M in EBITDA. We know these sectors from the operating side. Here’s what we look for and how we work.
Established businesses with durable cash flow.
SIZE
$2.5M–$12M EBITDAEBITDA of $2.5M–$12M. Revenue of $10M–$75M. These ranges put us squarely in the lower middle market, where we have the most conviction and face the least competition from large-fund buyers. We require at least three years of consistent profitability.
INDUSTRIES
Essential SectorsSpecialty chemicals, industrials and industrial services, and essential B2B services. We don’t invest in turnarounds, startups, real estate, retail, or technology businesses. Our three sectors share a common thread: operational complexity that rewards patient, hands-on ownership.
GEOGRAPHY
U.S.-BasedPrimarily U.S.-based businesses, with particular depth in the Midwest and Eastern United States. We will consider opportunities in other U.S. regions where the business fits our sector criteria.
THE BUSINESS MODEL
Beyond the numbers:
the business model.
This is where we differ from most buyers, and where founders see that we actually understand their world. Size tells us a company is the right scale. The model tells us whether it will keep winning.
It owns its formulas, designs, and IP
We buy companies that own what makes their products theirs. If you own your formulations, your designs, or your specs, the value lives with the business, not with a customer who could walk tomorrow. We pass on pure contract manufacturers that simply make other companies’ products to someone else’s recipe, because the moment that customer leaves, the value goes with them. Owning your IP is what makes a business defensible, and it is what we want to back.
Its distributors add real value
We will look at distribution businesses, but only where there is something hard to replace in the middle. That means real value-add like quality and lot testing, regulatory licensing, custom blending, repackaging under your own spec, or technical service that customers depend on. A business that simply moves boxes from one party to another, with no defensible role of its own, is not for us. We are looking for the kind of value-add that makes you genuinely hard to switch away from.
Its supply and availability hold up
Before we go deep, we check that the business is actually available and built on solid footing: independent, not already owned by another investor or rolled into a larger company, and not dependent on a single fragile supply line. We would rather find this out early than waste your time. A clean, independent, well-supplied business is one we can move on quickly.
We are holders, not flippers. Patient capital, long time horizons, and no forced exits.
WHAT WE VALUE
Three sectors.
Deep conviction.
We focus exclusively on specialty chemicals, industrials and industrial services, and essential B2B services. In specialty chemicals, we look for proprietary formulations, regulatory moats, and entrenched customer relationships, and we apply a specific view on what AI does and does not change inside a chemical business. In industrials and industrial services, we look for precision processes, long customer tenure, and meaningful switching costs, with a clear point of view on the technology that actually moves the shop floor. In essential B2B services, we look for recurring contracts, route density, and businesses that grow with their customers, informed by our work on technology in industrial services. Operational complexity in all three sectors creates durable barriers to entry.
Recurring Revenue
Customers who come back. Relationships built over years, not one-off transactions. We give extra weight to businesses with contract revenue, repeat purchase patterns, or embedded customer workflows. This is the foundation of durable compounding.
Established Operations
Three or more years of profitability with a proven business model and real operating history. We don’t invest in turnarounds or businesses that need to find their model. We invest in businesses that have already found it and need a partner to take the next step.
Ownership Transition
Founder-led businesses where the owner is ready to transition, retire, or step back from day-to-day management. We structure deals as platform acquisitions, add-on acquisitions, or structured equity arrangements. We don’t flip what we buy. Our hold horizon is long, and we plan accordingly from day one.
What we bring to every partnership.
After close, we go to work. We embed with management teams, deploy technology, and build the infrastructure that turns a good business into a durable one.
Technology & Operations
We identify and implement technology improvements that reduce costs and improve margins. In our sectors, this often means applying modern software to processes that have run on spreadsheets and tribal knowledge for decades. The gains are real and fast.
Management Infrastructure
We build reporting, planning, and accountability structures that let founders step back without the business losing momentum. We also source and evaluate add-on acquisitions, handling the full process so management stays focused on operations.
Patient Capital
Our capital structure means we are never forced sellers. We hold through full value-creation cycles, pursue add-ons when they fit, and let compounding do the work. Sellers who want a buyer with a long time horizon find us well-suited.
Think your business might be a fit?
Whether you’re a founder exploring options, an intermediary with an opportunity, or a capital partner, we’re here when you’re ready.