Franchising
Jan-Pro Holdings, LLC - This Company is a holding
entity for Jan-Pro Franchising International, Inc., the second largest
franchisor of cleaning services in North America. Jan-Pro currently has
more than 95 master franchisees and more than 9,000 unit franchisees
servicing approximately 25,000 customers. System wide revenues are
approximately $200 million annually. Franchisees also have operations
internationally, including Canada, Great Britain and the MidEast. Mr
Bergschneider formerly served as Vice Chairman and Secretary. The
principal investor in Jan-Pro was JHW Greentree Capital, LP, an affiliate
of J. H. Whitney & Co. In September, 2008, the investment was liquefied
through a re-capitilization led by Webster Capital Management and Gemini
Investors. The re-capitilization resulted in a return in excess of 9 times
to the equity invested in 3.5 years.
Niche Manufacturing – Personal Products
Tevco, Inc. - Kirker Holdings Inc.
is a holding company with two subsidiaries, Kirker Enterprises, Inc. and
Tevco Inc., both leading manufacturers of finished and untoned nail polish
and base materials. The Company operates facilities in Paterson and South
Plainfield, New Jersey as well as in Scotland, UK. Starboard Capital
Partners partnered with Tevco management in a buyout of Tevco from its
French parent company, and later combined the company with its principal
competitor to become Kirker Holdings Inc. to form the largest blender of
nail enamel in the world. The result was a return of more than 2.4X the
original investment in only 15 months, realized in cash and notes.
Construction & Construction Management
Midasco LLC
provides installation and maintenance services for intelligent highway
systems, highway signage, lighting and signals in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Services include: estimating, bid preparation, engineering, project
management, and full construction work on excavation, foundations,
structure erection, electrical wiring, device installation, and
integration. Midasco projects include the installation of signs and lights
on interstate highways, local roadways, tunnels, parking lots, and airport
runways, traffic detection systems using loops, cameras, and microwave
detectors; decorative, roadway and high mast lighting, and lane control
systems. The principal investors in Midasco were MSR I SBIC, L.P. and MSR
Fund II, L.P., affiliates of Main Street Resources and Management. In
June, 2011 Midasco was sold to a major foreign construction company.
Investors earned more than a 3.5x return over a six year period.
Technology
WHI Solutions, Inc.
WHI Solutions, Inc. (“WHI”) products include an extensive automotive
after-market electronic parts catalogue, on-demand distribution management
software, and the market's leading e-commerce solution for warehouse
distributors, retailers, service dealers and original equipment
manufacturers. Customers include AC Delco, WalMart, Carquest and other
large automotive parts wholesalers and retailers. Starboard principals
were significant shareholders and Starboard was a strategic financial
advisor for capital solutions and acquisitions. Marc Bergschneider served
as Chairman and Assistant Secretary. The principal investors in WHI were
Polaris Venture Partners and MidMark Capital. The Company was sold to eBay
in April 2012.
Construction & Construction Management
Morgan Contracting Inc.
(“MCI”), based in Baker, Florida, is a 20 year old niche construction
contractor for water and waste water infrastructure. Qualified to do
business in 46 states, MCI’s services include pipeline installation,
design/build of waste water treatment plants and pump stations, and
tunneling for local municipalities and water authorities across the United
States. Tom Stocks serves on the Board of Managers. The principal
investors in MCI were MSR Fund II, LP, an affiliate of Main Street
Resources, Ironwood Mezzanine Fund II, an affiliate of Ironwood Capital
and Management. The Company was re-capitalized in 2012 and is now owned by
Ironwood Capital.
Industrial
American Refrigeration, Inc.
is the holding company that owns Heat Transfer Products Group (“HTPG”), a
former division of Carrier Commercial Refrigeration, a subsidiary of
Carrier Corporation and United Technologies, Inc. HTPG manufactures
components and products involved in heat transfer and commercial
refrigeration. Customers include food retail and foodservice,
warehouses/storage, and laboratories/hospitals that have cooling and
refrigeration needs. Products include evaporators, condensers, condensing
units, racking systems, and coils that can be sold as components,
equipment, or integrated systems sold to a mix of OEMs, wholesalers, and
installation/service companies. Ridgely Cromwell serves on the Board of
Directors. The principal investor in HTPG was Monomoy Capital Partners.
Construction & Construction Management
Lakeshore Toltest Corporation, Inc.
is a Detroit based worldwide construction company which manages major
military and other government agency infrastructure projects, as well as
major water and sewer projects for municipalities. Significant completed
projects have included airport runways, barracks, schools, hospitals and
roads throughout the United States, as well as in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Because of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan and Iraq,
delayed and cancelled projects there caused major credit, bonding and cash
flow dislocations, which led to a decision to liquidate the company in
April, 2014.
Manufacturing and Maintenance Services
The Roberts Company
(“TRC”), based in Winterville, North Carolina, is an industrial
construction, fabricator, and plant maintenance contractor. TRC's field
services division specializes in providing plant maintenance, plant
retrofits and expansion services largely in the Mid-Atlantic region, while
its fabrication division manufactures ASME code pressure vessels, heat
exchangers, reactors, columns, conveyors, skids/ducts/piping, high purity
equipment and storage tanks for customers in the United States and abroad.
Tom Stocks serves on the Board of Managers. The principal investors in TRC
are MSR Fund II, LP, an affiliate of Main Street Resources, Ironwood
Capital, and Management. Roberts was sold to Argan, Inc.
Niche Manufacturing
Brite-Line Technologies, LLC
is a niche manufacturer of highway lane tapes. The Company, founded in
1989, is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Brite-Line is one of two
companies in the U.S. and Europe that produce raised permanent and
temporary highway lane and cross-walk tapes. This raised product enhances
highway safety with increased headlight reflectivity in combination with a
longer life than paint and other liquid line solutions. Starboard served
on the Board of Directors. Other investors were Peninsula Capital Partners
and management. The Company was sold in 2018.
Business Services
QDiscovery, LLC
is a provider of electronic discovery and litigation support services to
law firms, corporations, and government enterprises, with customers in the
United States and internationally.
The Company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in New London, CT
with additional offices in Boston, MA, Washington DC, Indianapolis, IN and
Chicago, IL. QDiscovery combines an experienced team of professionals led
by CEO Matthew McCormack with a highly‐scalable technology on a hosted
platform. This allows the Company to provide services across the entire
Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) spectrum, including collection
and preservation of data, processing and analysis, hosting, document
review, and production of electronically stored information on any
operating system or device.
QDiscovery’s growth has averaged nearly 40% over the last two years and
the company was awarded #1 as the 2015 “Best Places to Work in
Connecticut”. Jeff Kindler, former General Counsel of Pfizer and
McDonalds, and Marc Bergschneider served as operating and board advisors.
Other investors are Bridge Investments, a private equity and venture
capital firm in Chicago, IL, and management.
QDiscovery was sold to Xact Data Discovery on June 26, 2019 for an
investment gain of more than 5X.
TheraPlay
TheraPlay
TheraPlay is a Pennsylvania-based, thirty-two (32) location outpatient
pediatric therapy practice. As the largest network in the Northeast, the
Company is recognized as a leader in providing physical, occupational,
speech, and feeding therapy services, treating children from birth through
age 21. TheraPlay is a leading contract therapy provider in the education
market, complementing its fixed-location therapy centers.
Marketing Services
PureRED (previously GAIPRC Group) is a leading
marketing services firm that designs and executes integrated retail
marketing programs - including premedia advertising execution, print and
digital creative/design, digital asset management services, photographic
services and interactive services - for national retailers including
Kroger, Walgreens and Lowe's. As a single source provider of a customized
turnkey solution, PureRED's services significantly reduce retailers'
marketing operations costs, improve marketing execution processes and
improve the brand experience at every touch point of their marketing
campaigns through a broad set of eye-catching design, photographic and
creative services. PureRED was founded in 1967 and is based in Stone
Mountain, GA. PJ Smith serves on the Board of Directors. The other
investors in PureRED are RFE Investment Partners, Caymus Equity Partners,
and Management.
Infrastructure
JPC Holdings, LLC
(“JPC”) is a major precast concrete manufacturer with extensive
engineering capabilities. Its principal facility is in Hamilton, New
Jersey with a satellite facility in Bethel, Pennsylvania. Significant
products include parking garages, major structural forms for roads,
bridges, buildings and water and sewer systems. Other co-investors are
Gemini Investors, Pine Street Capital Partners, and Management. Mr.
Bergschneider serves as Director.
Alamac American Knits - is a North Carolina based
textile manufacturer primarily of knitted fabrics for the uniform and
career apparel market. The fabrics are high value add that must be able to
hold colors through industrial washings over multiple years and be able to
release stains, dirt, etc. and provided on a small batch, quick turn basis
at the wholesale level. The Company was a profitable division purchased
out of a larger bankrupt entity.
Apothecare LLC. - Headquartered in Brockton, MA.
Apothecare is a rapidly growing institutional pharmacy targeting the
behavioral health sector in group homes and community-based settings in
Massachusetts. The Company's primary patient base, primarily individuals
with intellectual and developmental disabilities ("IDO") but also
substance abusers, has complex medication requirements. The Company's
unique high touch service model, which includes multiple daily delivery
capabilities, automated cycle filling, as well as on-site support and
training for clients' staff, provides significant value to clients and
payors by ensuring the highest level of medication management compliance.
The Company serves more than 5,000 patients in more than 700 group homes
and other settings across the state.
Cognex - Long recognized as the worldwide technical
and market share leader in the expanding field of industrial optical
character recognition applications, this public company sourced its
original two rounds of venture capital from a limited (3) consortium of
New England based funds co-led by Prime Capital prior to its going public.
FEI Products - was a contract manufacturer of
Paragard, an intrauterine device (IUD) for contraception. During
ownership, FEI purchased the underlying NDA for the product which enabled
the Company to begin selling and distributing the product directly to the
market, significantly changing the operations and increasing the revenue
and profitability of the Company.
Hale Groves - the largest direct marketer of citrus in
the United States, selling gift baskets and related items to consumers via
catalog and the internet.
Lifecodes - A new start by Prime Capital and prior to
its acquisition in the late 1990's by a publicly held bio technology
suitor, Lifecodes was a pioneer in the development of proprietary
biologicals and instrumentation that led to an explosion in the revenues
associated with human identity product and services. At the time of its
competitive acquisition process, Lifecodes owned the second largest chain
of global DNA service providers.
National Fairways, Inc. - Beginning in 1992, National
Fairways became a major owner and operator of public and private golf
courses. In 1994 it also became a major developer of high-end private golf
clubs. At one time, National Fairways and its affiliates owned and
operated more than 20 courses in Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New
York, Connecticut and Rhode Island. As a developer, National Fairways
built three private clubs which are recognized as among the best
nationally. In 1998 and 1999, National Fairways sold most of its public
courses at large gains. In 2000, National Fairways formed Fairways
International Clubs ("FIC") which took on several new projects in New
Jersey, Connecticut and Arizona; In 2002, FIC opted to sell its
development assets.
National Interstate, Inc.
is a highly successful Cleveland based specialty P & C insurance company
which went public in 2005. The Company was originally organized by Prime
Capital and resulted in returns of more than 15 times.
Sonic Corp.
is a publicly traded fast food franchiser with locations predominantly in
the sunbelt. A predecessor to Starboard re-capitalized this company and
subsequently took the Company public. An initial investment of $2 million
became publicly traded stock with values in excess of $100 million within
two years. Marc Bergschneider served as a Director.
Theraplay.
TheraPlay is a Pennsylvania-based, thirty-two (32) location outpatient
pediatric therapy practice. As the largest network in the Northeast, the
Company is recognized as a leader in providing physical, occupational,
speech, and feeding therapy services, treating children from birth through
age 21. TheraPlay is a leading contract therapy provider in the education
market, complementing its fixed-location therapy centers.
Unimast, Inc.
is a manufacturer of steel studs for building construction. A predecessor
of Starboard completed a leveraged buyout of the Company and later sold
the company to Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel Company. Marc Bergschneider
served as a Director.