FROM RESILIENCE TO RESURGENCE
While 2021 was marked by challenges and change, our management team partners’ resilience never faltered even as the pandemic continued, resulting in a year of resurgence.
There’s a lot to be grateful for as we take time to reflect and focus on our ambitions for the year ahead. We are thankful for our employees, our portfolio management teams, our investors and our partners for their hard work, grit, passion and determination. We are also extremely proud of the progress we’ve made as a firm and to have been recognized on Inc.’s Founder-Friendly Investors list for the second consecutive year.
With gratitude for your support in 2021, we look forward to another year of growth and partnerships.
3 NEW PLATFORMS
6 ADD-ONS
4 EXITS
CONTINUED FIRM GROWTH
PORTFOLIO HIGHLIGHTS
In 2021, we invested in three new platform companies, supported our current portfolio with six new add-on investments and realized exits for four of our companies that went on to pursue their next chapter of growth. Here are some portfolio highlights:
DRIVEN LIGHTING GROUP EXIT
Strong partnership orientation and a thesis-driven approach resulted in rapid growth over a three-and-a-half-year investment period.
ESC/MY IT UNVEILS NEW BRAND AS THE PURPLE GUYS
The announcement further advanced the company’s growth story and better aligned with its commitment to providing predictable, stress-free, friendly IT support.
SPATCO MAJORITY RECAP & TWO ADD-ONS
Platform investment initially made in September 2020 experienced significant growth as acquisitions further solidified SPATCO’s dominance in the Southeast.
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Kian’s partnership, along with our buy-and-build strategy and success with adding these two companies, will continue to help us innovate and scale, creating opportunity for our team members, customers, vendors and communities. After working with and getting to know the Kian team over the past several years, we are confident that they will empower us with the additional resources and expertise we need to maximize our company’s potential.
John Force
President & CEO of SPATCO
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We had a lot of opportunity and we needed a financial partner to fuel our growth and realize our lofty ambitions. Kian’s collaborative approach, strategic relationships in the auto aftermarket space and operational experience helped me navigate through significant growth and rapid change.
Matt Kossoff
Chief Product Officer and Founder of The Retrofit Source
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The growth we’ve experienced has been nothing short of amazing and has culminated in this exciting new partnership with Aurora. From their original investment through the exit process, Kian showed an incredible commitment to investing in our company and our people to help Westcoast Gate maximize its potential.
Bob Flecken
CEO of Westcoast Gate
WESTCOAST GATE EXIT
Westcoast Gate more than tripled its revenue and EBITDA during Kian’s investment, creating a market-leading platform in residential and commercial perimeter security solutions.
T SPORTLINE PLATFORM INVESTMENT
E-commerce provider and first mover in the Tesla aftermarket space, marking Kian’s third platform investment in the automotive aftermarket.
THE EASTWOOD COMPANY’S ADD-ON OF YOST VISES
Addition was highly complementary to Eastwood’s core business and was the first in company history of what will be many as focus remains on a buy-and-build strategy.
FIRM HIGHLIGHTS
2021 brought with it an unprecedented market and an exciting year of growth for Kian. Outside of portfolio activity and new investments, we welcomed Ulrich Erasmus who has extensive experience in working with founder-owned businesses. We are also in the process of hiring several more team members in both Atlanta and Charlotte. As we continue to grow as a firm, we are committed to our investment strategy of providing first institutional capital to growth-oriented founders and management teams.
For me personally, it is a very exciting time to join Kian Capital. The firm’s reputation and brand are highly-regarded, and it is a firm I’ve been following closely. Kian’s collaborative approach brings more than just capital to the table and creates a value proposition that is truly differentiated within the private equity middle market.
INVESTMENT CRITERIA
We deploy flexible and creative capital that aligns with our philosophy of creating relationships where everyone wins. With a focus on lower middle-market opportunities, we think in terms of what is right for each situation and can offer equity and mezzanine debt in structures that offer innovative solutions to each company with which we partner.
Sector Focus
... to enable our firm to develop valuable processes that leverage our deep experience and flexible resources to help our portfolio companies ignite growth.
Learn More About Kian's Investment Profile
or contact David Duke, Partner, Business Development, at
dduke@kiancapital.com
