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

Investment Philosophy

Bertram Capital has distinguished itself in the private equity community by successfully combining venture capital operating methodologies with private equity financial discipline to enable 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 that will solidify a company’s longer‐term market position. Our goal is to empower middle market companies to unlock their full business potential.

Investment Criteria

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Industry Focus

  • Business Services
  • Consumer
  • Industrial/Manufacturing
  • Technology
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Size Characteristics

  • Revenue: $20 – $250M
  • EBITDA: $5 – $35M
  • Add–ons can be Smaller/Earlier Stage
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Transaction Structures

  • Preference for Control
  • Prefer Private Companies or Divestitures
  • Management Buyouts
  • Shareholder Liquidity Events
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Equity Strategy

    • Enterprise Value: $50 – $500M
    • Platform Equity Check Range: $25 – $250M
    • Ample Capital Available for Add–ons
    • Low Leverage: ~50 – 70% Equity

Value Creation

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High
5sm

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.

one

Sales & 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.

two

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.

three

Acquire Accretive and Complementary Businesses

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.

four

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.

five

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.

Case Studies

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Case Study: Spireon

Bertram Capital employed The Bertram Capital High 5sm to build a leading provider of vehicle analytics and telematics solutions to the automotive and commercial transportation sectors.

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Case Study: Paula's Choice

Bertram Capital employed The Bertram Capital High 5sm to build a unique content-driven ecommerce platform offering innovative skin care and cosmetics.

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Case Study: EDI

Bertram Capital employed The Bertram Capital High 5sm to build a highly engineered manufacturer of plastic processing equipment