Bertram Labs

Strategy

Bertram focuses on reinvestment and technology enablement to drive growth and expansion

Case Study: Flow Control Group

Bertram Capital adopted a buy and build strategy with Flow Control Group to expand its geographic presence and service capabilities

A solutions provider focused on technically oriented products and services for the flow control, industrial automation and life sciences with locations throughout North America.

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Investment Philosophy

Bertram Capital has distinguished itself in the private equity community by successfully combining venture capital operating methodologies with private equity financial discipline, with the objective of enabling middle market companies to become market leaders.

This approach is unique in that Bertram is not singularly focused on achieving its investment returns through financial engineering and the extraction of near-term cash flow. Instead, Bertram focuses on reinvestment and technology enablement to drive growth and expansion, seeking to solidify a company’s longer-term market position. Our goal is to empower middle market companies to unlock their full business potential.

Investment Criteria

Size Characteristics

  • Revenue: $25 – $250M
  • EBITDA: $3 – $50M
  • Add-ons can be Smaller/Earlier Stage

Equity Strategy

  • Enterprise Value: $50 – $500M
  • Platform Equity Check Range: $10 – $250M
  • Ample Capital Available for Add–ons
  • Low Leverage: ~50 – 70% Equity

Transaction Structures

  • Preference for Control/Structured Non-Control
  • Prefer Private Companies or Divestitures
  • Management Buyouts
  • Shareholder Liquidity Events

Industry Focus

  • Business Services
  • Consumer
  • Industrial/Manufacturing
  • Technology

Case Study: Solo Stove

Bertram Capital worked with low-smoke fire pits and camping stoves creator, Solo Stove to professionalize the business and accelerate its brand and paid marketing efforts

Solo Stoves is a technology enabled D2C platform now offering four premium outdoor lifestyle brands: Solo Stove, Oru, ISLE and Chubbies apparel.

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Value Creation

Bertram Capital pursues investments where our value-added technology and operating capabilities, in partnership with our portfolio companies, result in market leading businesses.

We operate with a focused investment approach, seeking to construct a portfolio of 9-12 platform companies per fund with approximately 50% of the capital allocated to the initial platform investment and the remainder reserved for follow-on acquisitions. Our process enables us to work closely with management and apply our complement of resources, providing the strategic support necessary to facilitate rapid, profitable growth. We specifically seek businesses that align well with The Bertram Capital High 5sm, our proprietary, strategic framework for building businesses and can further benefit from our Bertram Labs technology enablement team.

Sales and Marketing Improvements

We pursue opportunities to broaden distribution, develop new products and services and expand into new geographies, vertical segments and channels for our portfolio companies.

Acquire Accretive and
Complementary Business

Our buy and build approach is the foundation for our transformational growth initiatives. We target businesses that operate in fragmented markets, where we can effect acquisitions that contribute greater scale and stability, market expansion and enhanced strategic relevance.

Operational
Improvement

We partner with management to generate cost savings, improve customer satisfaction and increase wallet share through improved performance and expand capacity to support sales growth.

Strengthen
Management Teams

We strive to partner with proven management teams, supplementing the team as needed to support business initiatives and ensure we have a shared vision for growth.

Leverage Technology
and Intellectual Property

Through our in-house technology team, Bertram Labs, our team has significant expertise in applying technology to accelerate revenue growth, reduce operating costs and create cutting edge product and service offerings. When appropriate, we strategically invest in and expand intellectual property (IP) portfolios for our investments.

Case Study: Spectrio

Bertram Capital worked with customer engagement services company, Spectrio to invest in software development and expand its capabilities

Spectrio is a customer engagement company specializing in digital signage and supporting solutions to directly connect a brand’s messaging to its end users. The company offers on-hold messaging, digital signage, interactive kiosks, Wi-Fi marketing, in-store music and scent marketing to businesses of all sizes.

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