Capabilities

We believe that our relationship with entrepreneurs is a partnership whose ultimate goal is building a successful business. Our approach to this partnership is straightforward. We act as full partners with the entrepreneurs by providing capital and a variety of other resources that assist them in successfully executing their growth strategy.

We serve as active directors of our portfolio companies by working closely with, and in support of, management. The nature of our involvement varies based upon the size and maturity of the company. In younger companies, this may mean helping to refine a market strategy or business plan or assembling a syndicate of complementary investors to complete a round of financing. For more mature companies, this might mean assisting management with analyzing and closing an acquisition or preparing the company for an initial public offering. In addition, some of the resources which we can provide include attracting individuals with the necessary skill sets to fill out a management team as well as outside directors with years of experience and successful track records in the industry. We also identify and contact joint venture partners who will enhance the revenue, distribution and credibility of the company within the industry.

Building value is hard work that often takes years. We believe Brantley’s collective experience in helping build over 100 companies from their initial stages allows us to provide valuable insight to management in the areas of operational management, strategic planning, marketing, manufacturing and corporate finance. Through our experience and expertise, we can assist entrepreneurs in establishing a leadership position in their industry and maximizing shareholder value. Our expertise as business partners assures entrepreneurs and managers of the following advantages:

Industry Expertise

We take great pride in bringing a unique level of experience and industry insight to each company. We have a broad network of contacts and resources to complement our own in-house expertise.

Financial Capabilities

We have approximately $300 million of capital under management and an extensive base of equity capital, banking and mezzanine funding relationships. Our limited partners include some of the largest pension funds and banks in the United States. Our expertise in corporate finance can also be extremely valuable in making acquisitions, negotiating joint ventures, working with banks and mezzanine lenders, and in taking a company public.

Creative and Timely Response

We have built an entrepreneurial organization that can provide rapid and creative solutions to our portfolio companies’ needs. We have complete discretion over the funds that we manage and are not required to receive limited partner approval for investments.

Acquisition Strategy Investments

We invest our time and the funds we manage in the creation, development, and expansion of a company. In return, we seek an equity interest. While we do make investments of lesser amounts, we typically commit between $2 million and $10 million, and can invest up to $20 million in any one company.

Our investment in a company usually represents the initial round of institutional capital. While we have invested in companies in all stages of development, we are almost exclusively focused on opportunities to back a superior management team implementing an acquisition growth strategy. This approach entails identifying large, highly fragmented industries that are being driven toward consolidation by economic and market forces. Once these industries have been identified, Brantley will back a management team, and a platform company, which can increase sales growth and enhance the profitability of both the platform and additionally acquired companies. Brantley has invested in over 20 strategic consolidations in industries as diverse as health care, banking, packaging, direct marketing, promotional products, specialty frozen foods, retail, avionics components and system integration, and environmental services.

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