Financing for lower middle market companies

We partner with entrepreneurs to fund promising lower-middle market companies with growth prospects.  Our investment mandate is flexible.  Our approach is grounded in the philosophy that success in lower-middle market private investments hinges on operations and value added experience.  We only invest in businesses that we can help grow and improve.

Operations Oriented & Lower Middle Market Focused

Our investment model is designed to be collaborative with management teams and operating partners.

We structure our transactions so that we are not bound by typical short time horizons. Our use of leverage is conservative and allows us to better manage risk. We plan our investments so that our management teams have ample time to reach their objectives and add maximum value to their portfolio companies.

Our core belief is business success in lower-middle market companies is found not only in strategy, but also in the day-to-day blocking and tackling that is needed to successfully implement strategy. This principle of focusing on operations, implementation, and the details of running businesses is integral to our firm and how we add value to our portfolio companies. It is often overlooked by others. It is what makes us different and we only invest in companies in which we can add value.

Each company’s unique circumstances dictate the ideal investment time horizon to add optimal value. We adjust our investment holding period accordingly. We will not hurry to exit investments prematurely.

Investment Criteria

We seek lower-middle market companies with growth prospects

Industry Sectors:  We focus on consumer and branded companies including: packaged and specialty food and beverage products, restaurants, retail & apparel, household products and accessories, sporting goods, fitness, health, wellness, beauty, and luxury.

We also selectively target acquisitions in financial services, B2B services, technology (excluding hi-tech), and manufacturing/industrial.

We tend to avoid businesses in utilities, oil & gas, biotechnology, healthcare, and cutting-edge technologies. Companies that rely on government spending tend to be difficult targets, but we will consider those under unique circumstances.

Targeted Company Fundamentals:  Enterprise values range between $25M and $150M with a minimum revenue and EBITDA of $20M and $4M, respectively.  Smaller opportunities will be considered on a selective basis.

Businesses with healthy fundamentals are strongly preferred. Operating margins exceeding 10% with potential of increasing to ~20% within two years is ideal.  Distressed situations are selectively considered.

Potential Transaction Structures:  Equity checks range between $3M and $30M.

Transactions often take the form of leveraged buyouts or management buyouts.  We strongly prefer conservative levels of leverage and only employ leverage in circumstances in which cash flows are consistent and stable.

Growth financings and restructurings are also potential transaction types that are considered.

Situations of Interest:

• Family owned businesses undergoing a generational transition, passing torch to next management team, and those needing a path to succession
• Corporate divestitures and orphan brands needing a strong management team
• Capital deprived opportunities with a clear path to growth through an identified expansion plan.
• Consolidations and roll-ups
• Select distressed and turnaround opportunities

Geographical Focus:  We are engaged and hands-on partners that actively support our portfolio companies on strategic, operational and financial matters.  For that reason, we have a strong preference for companies on the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.

Team

Hakan K Ergulec is the founder and Managing Partner of Altin Capital Partners, and has over 17 years of private equity investing, senior executive, operating, and entrepreneurship experience with lower-middle market companies. Mr. Ergulec has assisted numerous companies in achieving growth targets by attracting executive management, building infrastructure, and providing guidance with long-term strategic plans.

Prior to founding Altin Capital Partners, Mr. Ergulec spent 11 years as a Principal at Blue 9 Capital, a New York based private equity firm specializing in lower middle market companies in retail, consumer, manufacturing, and financial services businesses. While at Blue 9 Capital, Mr. Ergulec lead numerous successful transactions and resided on boards of several portfolio companies. Earlier in his career, Mr. Ergulec was a Senior Associate at Inductis, a leading strategy and analytics consulting firm serving Fortune 1000 financial services and insurance companies. Mr. Ergulec started his career at MCG, a lower-middle market print and media company, that grew rapidly from below $20M in revenue to over $100M during the 6 years of his tenure in various operating roles.

Mr. Ergulec is a CFA Charterholder; holds a BS in Computer Science from the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia University and graduated from Columbia Business School with an MBA in Finance with Beta Gamma Sigma honors.

Mr. Ergulec is currently on the board of Tekmen Wells, a family office.

Tracy L Nixon is a Senior Executive Adviser of Altin Capital Partners, and has over 20 years of private equity investing, senior executive, operating, and entrepreneurship experience with lower-middle market companies. Ms. Nixon's expertise is in assisting companies achieve growth targets by attracting executive management and providing guidance with long-term strategic plans.

Ms. Nixon is the Managing Partner and Co-founder of Tekmen Wells, a NYC-based family office specializing in private investments in lower-middle market companies. Over the past 20 years, Ms. Nixon has lead numerous successful transactions and resided on boards of several portfolio companies. Prior to Tekmen Wells, Ms. Nixon spent 11 years at Goldman Sachs as a Vice President in the Family Office and Private Wealth division. Ms. Nixon began her career in pharmaceutical sales for Warner-Lambert.

Ms. Nixon holds a BA from Princeton University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Portfolio Investments

We invest in companies for our own accounts. The following is a representative sample of some of current and past investments of our team members.  Many of our investments are confidential and only disclosed to our investor community.