Many of our portfolio companies are corporate carve-outs, early and post-founder growth and distress opportunities. A number of the profiles below highlight how our portfolio companies have been able to expand internationally and into new markets because of successfully built operational platforms.
Moderno Porcelain Works
Deal Type: Growth financing Moderno specializes in the installation of high-quality porcelain surfaces in residential and commercial markets. Installations are across a variety of applications including kitchen countertops, shower walls, bathroom vanities and fireplaces. The company’s in-house craftsmen, design capabilities, and fabrication and installation techniques, enable clients to enjoy porcelain’s superior beauty and durability. Moderno will use the growth financing for showrooms and fabrication facilities across the United States. ModernoWorks.com Essentium
Deal Type: Growth financing Exit: TBD Essentium Inc. manufactures and delivers innovative industrial 3D printers and materials enabling the world’s top manufacturers to bridge the gap between 3D printing and machining and embrace the future of additive manufacturing. The company will use growth financing to scale manufacturing, engineering, international distribution, and sales and marketing operations to meet market demand for the recently introduced Essentium High Speed Extrusion (HSE) Platform. Essentium3d.com |
Estis Compression
Deal Type: Growth financing Exit: TBD Estis Compression, LLC and McClung Energy Services, LLC collectively, “Estis” is a leading provider of compression services and a fabricator of compression equipment for use in upstream oil and gas operations. The company is focused on providing solutions at the wellhead, where its expertise in small horsepower and high-pressure applications is in greatest demand. Genesis Park’s capital and relationships will help Estis expand its existing footprint in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana and enter new domestic basins. EstisCompression.com |
Hcareers
Deal Type: Carve out from public corporation Exit: TBD Hcareers is the premier recruiting brand and platform in the hospitality sector and has the largest North American hospitality talent pool. Through focused investment, innovative technology and a new leadership team, Genesis Park will help transform Hcareers into an ongoing career management, development and recruiting platform. Hcareers.com |
Virgil
Deal Type: Growth financing Exit: TBD Virgil is a career navigation and recruiting platform that utilizes proprietary machine learning algorithms and micro-assessments to match job seekers to the perfect career path, employment opportunity and developmental resources. Genesis Park's capital will help integrate Virgil's technology into its diverse customer base including trade associations, job boards, workforce agencies, corporate recruiters, higher education and non-profits. VirgilCareers.com |
Layne Water Midstream
Deal Type: Carve out from public corporation Exit: TBD Layne Water Midstream is a large-scale water midstream operator, delivering strategic and reliable water management solutions to the oil and gas industry. With a geographic focus in the Permian Basin, Layne Water Midstream manages full cycle water infrastructure that provides produced water gathering and disposal, source water delivery, and produced water redelivery, treatment and recycling services. Growth capital will be used to expand its footprint and serve customers with innovative technologies and solutions. LayneWaterMidstream.com |
Twenty20 Solutions
Deal Type: Growth financing Exit: TBD In November 2017, Genesis Park invested in PetroCloud LLC, which was later rebranded to Twenty20 Solutions to represent its broader market appeal. Twenty20 Solutions is a technology leader of cloud-based solutions that provides automation, monitoring and security to the energy, utility, agriculture and critical infrastructure industries. Genesis Park will use its extensive experience and relationships in the telecommunications and technology sectors to help Twenty20 achieve the next level of success. Twenty20Solutions.com |
Texas Monthly
Deal Type: Carve out from public corporation Exit: Sale to strategic buyer In October 2016, Genesis Park purchased the assets of Texas Monthly from Emmis Communications Inc. Founded in 1973, Texas Monthly chronicles life in Texas and covers areas such as politics, industry, education and leisure. Genesis Park was the third owner of the Texas brand and used its deep Texas relationships and media history to extend the brand beyond print into digital content, social media, expanded events, merchandising and a broader custom publishing business. During Genesis Park's ownership of Texas Monthly, its total audience grew 72 percent and new podcasts and new live events such as Texas Monthly LIVE and the annual EDGE: The Texas Monthly Festival were introduced. TexasMonthly.com |
Starr Hill Presents
Deal Type: Growth financing Exit: Staged de-acquisitions over time In 2012, Genesis Park led growth financing for Starr Hill Presents, an entertainment company with a high quality portfolio of festival interests. SHP has splendid management and a differentiated pipeline of opportunities going forward. Bonnaro, Austin City Limits, Outside Lands, SXSW and Summerfest Houston are among the existing array of SHP investments. Parent Company is Red Light Management. RedLightManagement.com |
Alpheus Communications
Deal Type: Carve out from public corporation Exit: Sale to financial buyer In 2004, Genesis Park partnered with the El Paso Corporation to carve out a troubled telecommunications subsidiary. Genesis Park Partner, Paul Hobby, assumed the CEO role, rebranding El Paso Global Networks as Alpheus and transitioning it into a fully independent entity. Alpheus became the largest alternative fiber optic network in Texas through prudent use of leverage and disciplined re-investment of internally generated cash. Organically and through targeted M&A, Alpheus grew steadily through all types of economic conditions: purchase of a data center in Austin, acquisition of a data center operator in Dallas, and five major fiber optic cable transactions. |
Point One Communications
Deal Type: Recapitalization Exit: Sale to financial buyer In 2001, Genesis Park participated in the rescue of PointOne from bankruptcy, providing senior debt and receiving equity warrants. We understood the telecom business and liked our priority and our positioning were the company to get into trouble again. Our team was also able to provide legal expertise as we extracted the business from formal bankruptcy proceedings. We received our principal back within a year and participated in the sale to Thermo Capital, recognizing significant gain on the equity and receiving mezzanine interest rates on a seller note. |
CapRock Communications
Deal Type: Carve out from public corporation Exit: Sale to financial buyer After deciding to focus on the wireless industry in 2000, Genesis Park Partner, Peter Shaper, undertook a search for the right opportunity. In early 2002, Genesis Park was able to buy a satellite provider at an attractive price from the estate of McLeod Communications after the parent filed for bankruptcy. Mr. Shaper stepped in as CEO, and Genesis Park reinvested in the business to improve service and technology and build an extremely reliable and global network. Through a series of acquisitions and organic opportunities, CapRock became the largest provider of VSAT services for remote environments in the world. As the originator of the transaction, Genesis Park took an equity-based warrant in addition to its cash investment. |
FuelQuest
Deal Type: Growth financing Exit: Sale to strategic buyer In 2003, after observing the progress of a startup venture for a couple of years, we became investors in FuelQuest as it entered its growth phase. FuelQuest’s software solutions provide efficiency in bulk fuel management and collateral products. The company was able to grow steadily during our investment period, acquiring large retail, transportation and public sector customers before its sale to a strategic buyer in 2008. |
Commercial American Insurance Company
Deal Type: Carve out from public corporation Exit: Sale to strategic buyer In 2003, we were asked to participate in a buyout of a small mono-line P&C insurer from ING Barings. The buyer group insisted that this be done outside our Private Equity fund structure due to uncertainty in the holding period. We accepted a board position as part of our investment. Through a process of tightening and automating the business processes, we were able to let the business scale revenue without scaling overhead. |
Genesis Park Development (a/k/a Western General Holdings)
Deal Type: Stranded real estate asset Exit: Series of sales to strategic buyers In 2000, we identified a Texas chartered insurance company that had wound up most of its insurance book but retained a valuable piece of Houston urban real estate. The seller had special sensitivities that could not be satisfied by other potential acquirers who had tried without success to acquire the property. We were successful and also acquired an adjacent parcel to create a uniquely develop-able tract. By a careful master planning exercise, we retained certain development rights and worked with the local neighborhood authority to add complimentary infrastructure. After selling the first tract to a national developer to return all risk capital, the second and third tracts were sold later for record prices for the neighborhood. The added public amenities won a prestigious award for quality in urban design. |
Avalon Advisors
Deal Type: Start up financial services Exit: Partial sale to financial buyer In 2001, we were approached by local high net-worth account managers from a large international brokerage house and asked if we would assist and support their formation of a local boutique investment advisory firm. We helped structure a debt and equity offering –raising capital from selected individuals who could add value and reputation to the launch. A requirement was that only approved individuals could invest rather than private equity funds. Helping to recruit investment talent and clients, we aided the steady growth of Avalon through several investment cycles. Over a period of years, Avalon sold significant equity interests to two private equity firms: Platform Partners and the Carlyle Group. |
SAT Corporation
Deal Type: Growth Exit: Sale to strategic buyer In 2001, Genesis Park identified a growth investment opportunity in a small energy software company with a product that provided automated wireless data input for ERP systems popularly used in large industrial facilities common to the Houston region (refineries, chemical plants, etc.). We were the only professional investor in the capital structure and assisted with board oversight, talent recruitment and client presentations. In exchange for our added value, we took an equity warrant to compensate for differentiated effort among shareholders. SAT was sold to Invensys in 2008. Post-closing, Genesis Park served successfully as the shareholder representative for complicated post-closing intellectual property litigation management. |
Intermat
Deal Type: Carve out from public parent Exit: Sale to strategic buyer In 2004, we joined with the founder of this niche catalogue software provider, to buy the company back from MAXIMO, who had made a strategic decision to focus elsewhere in the ERP value chain. The price was attractive and our structural protection within the buyer group was excellent. One of Genesis Park’s principals was seconded to serve as Intermat’s CEO. After less than a two year holding period, the company was sold to IHS Holdings. |
Vivante
Deal Type: Recapitalization Exit: Sale to strategic buyer In 2009, we partnered with management to acquire the majority of the Introgen assets out of bankruptcy. Introgen had built out clean room facilities and developed manufacturing expertise for its internal use. We rebranded the company and re-launched as a third party manufacturer of viral vectors for customers who needed scaled quantities for their biopharmaceutical portfolio assets. Vivante GMP Solutions was the result of that strategy. Vivante was acquired in 2010 by Swiss-based LONZA, one of the world's leading suppliers to the pharmaceutical, healthcare and life science industries. |
ipDatatel
Deal Type: Growth financing Exit: Sale to financial buyer During 2012, Genesis Park led a financing round for ipDatatel, an innovator in the home security and home automation industries. The company engineers and manufactures innovative Internet-ready and cellular devices that connect existing security alarm systems to a suite of interactive services. The company’s products integrate with leading systems including Honeywell, DSC, and GE. ipDatatel’s communication platform provides remote arm/disarm, programming and servicing of security systems along with control of connected smart home devices such as lights, locks, thermostats, garage door openers and IP video. Its SecureSmart App is available on both iOS and Android smartphones and tablet devices. ipDatatel provides its products through alarm distributors and also provides product and services support. Today, ipDatatel is known as Alula. ipdatatel.com |