This sponsor

Independent sponsorVerified sponsor· Chicago, IL
Observed deals
8
Principals
6
Latest deal
2025
As of · the mandate; 12 observations on record

The sponsor's name, 3 additional people, 21 additional capital, identity and service provider links, 25 additional deals and portfolio companies, 2 events

Every relationship, signal and contact on this record, with the source on each.

Includes 3 days of DFX Intelligence. Then $199/month unless canceled.

Who they are
Chicago, IL · 8 people named
What they buy (claimed)
No size stated on the firm's own site.
As the firm states it, not checked against its deals.
What they have done
8 observed deals · latest 2025
6 platforms
Manufacturing, Consumer services, Business services
targets of 56 to 1158 plan participants (DFX estimate from 3 deals)
Portfolio
None on record yet.
Who finances them
Lenders: MUFG, KeyBank, OakNorth Bank PLC
Equity partners: a partner, Uncommon Equity LLC
Who to call
a named professional
Latest: Deal, Jan 2025
Key people
8 people · 0 with a confirmed email · 0 with a direct phone

ranked by who matters most in a conversation with this firm

  • Co-Founder & Managing Director

    Named on 1 transaction in DFX.

  • Co-Founder & CEO

    Named on 4 transactions in DFX.

  • Managing Director, CFO & Transaction Partner

    Managing Director, CFO & Transaction Partner, a senior member of the deal team

  • Principal

    Principal, a senior professional at the firm

  • Principal

    Principal, a senior professional at the firm

3 more on the team, named with the product. See plans

Why this kind
  • for: 8 announced transactions as buyer
What they claim, and what they have done
Observed
  • 5 platform or control deals, May 5, 2016 to Jan 1, 2025
  • 0 add-ons bought by its portfolio companies
  • 1 recapitalizations, 2 minority stakes
  • Platform targets by state: MI 1, NJ 1, TN 1, ID 1
Claimed on its own website

No buy criteria were read from its website.

What the filings and deals add up to
Sectors transacted
Industrial manufacturing (4); Consumer services (2); Business services (1)
Factvertical of the acquired targets· 85%· DFX's own graph
How do we know

Verified sponsor. Evidence identifies a firm: a publisher named it as the buyer in an announced transaction, a law firm or capital partner page names it as an independent sponsor, or its own site says so.

Nothing on this page comes from a website claim unless it is labelled as such with the URL.

Who has financed them
  • Repeat relationship
    a capital provider has financed 2 observed this sponsor transactions (2017).
    Roles: equity coinvest, equity provider
    • Jun 28, 2017Prosteel Security Productsweb.archive.org
    • ProSteel Security Holdings, Inc.no URL
Observed once
Financing, deal by deal
DateCompanyFinanced byRoleAmountSource
Jan 1, 2025Project BarFly, LLC d/b/a HopCat
Consumer services, MI
Capital providerlenderNot disclosedno URL
Jan 1, 2025Project BarFly, LLC d/b/a HopCat
Consumer services, MI
Capital providerequity providerNot disclosedno URL
Service provider relationships

6 more facts and signals are on record for this page. They name the firms involved and open with Independent Sponsor Intelligence.

Legal (3)
Who finances deals like theirs

DFX has not observed these firms together on any transaction in our coverage. That is a statement about what DFX has read, not about the firms: a deal that was never announced, or announced without naming its capital, cannot appear here.

Coverage behind this list: 3 providers observed financing sponsors in these 3 sectors · 7 of this firm's own deals read in them · most recent of theirs observed Jan 1, 2026.

  • Trivest PartnersConsumer services16 deals in consumer services, latest Jan 1, 2026
    seen as capital provider, co sponsor, equity coinvest, equity provider
  • Centre PartnersConsumer services9 deals in consumer services, latest Jul 1, 2025
    seen as capital provider, equity coinvest, equity provider
  • Trive Capital Management LLCConsumer services5 deals in consumer services, latest Jan 11, 2024
    seen as co sponsor, equity coinvest, equity provider

Read from the sectors this firm has actually bought in: manufacturing (4), consumer services (2), business services (1).

What have they done
Platform and control deals (2)
  1. 2025Platform acquisitionconfidence 92%
    this sponsor acquired Project BarFly, LLC d/b/a HopCat (Grand Rapids, MI)
    Uncommon Equity LLC · Capital providerHallet & Perrin, P.C. · CounselMuch Shelist, P.C. · CounselOakNorth Bank PLC · LenderMastodon Ventures, Inc. · Sellside advisor
    Deal team: 3 firms · DFX analyst research (General-assisted, every claim URL-cited) no URL
  2. Jan 2021Majority investmentconfidence 90%
    this sponsor acquired Rackson Restaurants, LLC (Bridgewater, NJ)
    Mastodon Ventures, Inc. · AdvisorMayer Brown · CounselPerkins Coie · CounselMUFG · Lender
    Deal team: 3 firms · DFX analyst research (General-assisted, every claim URL-cited) restaurantbusinessonline.com · restaurantbusinessonline.com restaurantbusinessonline.com · uncommonequity.com uncommonequity.com
Recapitalizations (1)
  1. Jul 24, 2023Recapitalizationconfidence 85%
    this sponsor recapitalised Great Lakes Restoration Group (SERVPRO of Saginaw) (Saginaw, MI)
    Texas Capital Bank · Capital providerOld National Bank · Capital providerJones Walker LLP · CounselVarnum LLP · CounselCalder Capital · Sellside advisor
    Deal team: 3 firms · DFX analyst research (General-assisted, every claim URL-cited) caldergr.com · caldergr.com caldergr.com · joneswalker.com joneswalker.com · uncommonequity.com uncommonequity.com
No vehicles linked.
  1. Jan 1, 2025Acquisition announced
    DFX analyst research (General-assisted, every claim URL-cited) no URL
  2. Jul 24, 2023Acquisition announced
    DFX analyst research (General-assisted, every claim URL-cited) caldergr.com
  3. Jan 1, 2021Acquisition announced
    DFX analyst research (General-assisted, every claim URL-cited) restaurantbusinessonline.com
  4. Jan 1, 2021Acquisition announced
    DFX analyst research (General-assisted, every claim URL-cited) web.archive.org
  5. Jan 1, 2019Acquisition announced
    DFX analyst research (General-assisted, every claim URL-cited) no URL
What appears to be their current activity

No vehicle filed in the last 12 months.

Principals, from the firm's own site
  • a named professionalManaging Director, CFO & Transaction Partner
  • a named professionalPrincipal
  • a named professionalDirector of Administration
Team, as the firm lists it
  • Eric SteinerAssociate
  • Patrick LoefflerSenior Associate
Who to call
the organisation, the role and the published line, with the filing or website that published it; revealed to signed-in accounts

Also named here, with no published line of their own (reach them through the firm): a named professional (Managing Director, CFO & Transaction Partner), a named professional (Principal), a named professional (Director of Administration), Eric Steiner (Associate), Patrick Loeffler (Senior Associate).

Who to call is the organisation, the person's role and the line they published themselves: a business phone, office address, website or profile link from Form ADV, Form 13F or their own website, with that source named on every value. The counts above are what a reveal returns; a personal email is rarely published, so most reveals are the firm's line. Never data bought from a provider, never anything personal. Reveals by plan

Portfolio companies (8)
Evidence
FactValueClassSource
Entity kindIndependent sponsor firmFactSBIA Independent Sponsor Forum roster sbia.org
Entity kindIndependent sponsor firmInferenceDFX model output (scores, estimates, matches) no URL
Entity kindUnknown investment entityInferenceDFX model output (scores, estimates, matches) no URL
HQ locationChicago, ILFactIndependent sponsor firm websites (the firm's own contact and team pages) no URL
Sponsor classificationIndependent sponsor firmFactSBIA Independent Sponsor Forum roster sbia.org
Email me when this firm changes
No password, no account. One line per change, with the source.
Is this your firm? Correct this recordWork at This sponsor, or see something wrong? Tell us and a person reads it.
Nothing you send is published automatically. A person reads it.
Across the graphs

This sponsor is the same institution as 1 record in Private Equity.

Private Equity1

The joined record opens with the product, beside every other relationship on this page.

Checking your plan…

Ask DFX