Piechart Partners seeks direct investment opportunities in lower middle-market businesses. We are an attractive solution for owners who are retirement-ready and desire to transition their business to an investment group that will actuate their business to the next level while sustaining their legacy. We are flexible as to approach and review of opportunities. To us, the situation is more important than the type of enterprise, industry, or financial criteria. We search for situations where our patient capital and expertise can create a positive difference in the business’ growth, profitability, and value. General guidelines follow:

 

SITUATION GUIDELINES

• Owner-entrepreneur seeking full or partial liquidity event to exit and retire
• Capital, management, and expertise needed to pursue long-term growth opportunities
• Necessitated transactions due to ownership splits through death, estate planning, divorce, buy/sell arrangements and/or liquidity needs
• Necessitated transactions due to other constituents (e.g., lender, non-active partner)
• Aspiring management teams seeking capital to sponsor a friendly management buyout or acquisition
• Divestitures of non-core businesses by corporations or private capital firms

 

BUSINESS, FINANCIAL, AND INDUSTRY GUIDELINES

• Annual operating cash flow up to $3.0 million
• Long-established and profitable enterprise with a definable market
• Clearly articulated, comprehendible, and perceived to be sustainable customer value proposition
• Management continuity is preferred, but not required

• Industry impartial, but industries of interest include:
  • Business and consumer services
  • Value-added distribution
  • Niche industrial manufacturing with proprietary products
  • Consumer products such as food, durables, and household products
  • Healthcare products, devices, services, and distribution
• Located east of the Mississippi River

 

INVESTING PHILOSOPHY

• We are creative to meet the objectives of business owners.
• We are patient investors who believe the execution of a business plan over time is the best way to create value.
• We prefer control transactions, but control is not mandatory. We review minority investments for growth financing situations as well as implement “gradual control” structures.
• We believe in modest amounts of third-party leverage.
• We review non-traditional opportunities, especially those deemed unattractive to conventional private capital providers.
• We review opportunities that do not have a high revenue growth profile, but have strong cash flow attributes.
• We review franchise or licensing arrangements.
• We incentivize talented and aspiring management with equity ownership.
• We partner with and sponsor existing management teams and/or new aspiring management partners.
• We assume active management responsibilities if necessitated by a lack of or transition of management.