FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – April 14, 2017

Southlake, TX – Southlake Equity Group announced today that it has closed its flagship fund, Southlake Equity Fund, LLC.

Southlake Equity Group was founded in 2007 to invest in lower‐middle market companies in the United States that exhibited the potential for extraordinary growth and value creation. The firm invests high‐net‐worth family and principal capital in a select number of companies and partners with management to develop and implement long‐term strategic and operational improvement plans. To date, the firm has made five acquisitions: Waples Manufacturing, which was sold to Banyan Mezzanine in 2014; PJ Trailers, Carry‐On Trailer, and RC Trailers, which together formed American Trailer Works and was sold to Bain Capital in 2016; and Titan Spine, a current portfolio investment.

The fund positions Southlake Equity Group to continue its successful strategy with a committed capital base. The fund will continue to target manufacturing, distribution and business service companies in the United States with enterprise values from $20‐$200 million, aiming to invest $20‐$50 million in each platform company. As in the past, the fund capital will be exclusively provided by high‐net‐worth families and the principals of the firm.

In announcing the launch of the fund, Tom Keene, Managing Partner at Southlake Equity Group, said: “Southlake’s strategy is based on combining very patient capital with deep management partnerships to build industry‐leading companies. Our objective is to create extraordinary businesses, and extraordinary takes time. We are deeply honored and incredibly fortunate to have the backing of some of America’s leading entrepreneurial families – families who know from their own experience building companies what it takes in terms of time, effort, capital and single-mindedness to build great businesses.”

David Spuria, Partner and General Counsel, added: “We look forward to deploying our committed capital base to form productive partnerships with the management teams we are fortunate to work with. We will invest in a select number of transactions and will target one to two investments each year over the next three to five years. This focused approach allows us to build the rapport with our management partners associated with becoming a great company.”

About Southlake Equity Group
Southlake Equity Group is a private investment firm that makes equity and debt investments in American middle market companies in manufacturing, distribution and service industries. The firm backs its belief in the ingenuity, innovation and productivity of the American entrepreneur, business manager and worker with patient, non‐institutional capital that helps companies grow and become industry leaders. The principals of the firm have over 65 years of combined experience in private equity and possess a unique breadth and depth of experience developed in leadership positions at some of the world’s leading investment and professional service firms.  The team has complementary skills that include expertise in transaction sourcing, transaction execution, corporate finance, legal, accounting, strategic planning, company management and operations.
For more information, please visit www.southlakeequity.com