Financialest. 1934
Brassbound Capital Markets
A small employee-owned broker-dealer specialising in municipal bond underwriting for school districts and water authorities.
Chicago, IL · 240 staff→
A register of businesses.
23 operating companies · 9 minority stakes
We do not arrange our portfolio by sector, region, or vintage. Below it is presented alphabetically — the way the founders kept it on a single index card in a Wilmington filing cabinet, and the way the partnership keeps it still.
0
Wholly-Owned
0
Minority Holdings
0
Avg. Holding (yrs)
0
Lifetime Divestments
§ I
Filter the Register
Specialty Materialsest. 1946
Caldera Specialty Chemicals
Producer of refractory and high-temperature ceramics for steel, glass, and semiconductor fabrication. Six plants. Customers in twenty-three countries.
Pittsburgh, PA · 2,100 staff→
Agricultureest. 1903
Coronet Seed & Grain
Heritage seed-stock supplier to family farms across the upper Midwest. Maintains a dedicated germplasm vault in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.
Stevens Point, WI · 410 staff→
Industrialsest. 1889
Drayton & Holst Tooling
Maker of cutting tools, dies, and broaches for the automotive aftermarket. Four generations of family management before joining the group in 2011.
Cincinnati, OH · 780 staff→
Consumer Staplesest. 1962
Eldermere Household
Manufacturer of unscented soaps, paper goods, and cleaning supplies sold under three regional brands and several private labels.
Allentown, PA · 1,180 staff→
Energyest. 1958
Halberd Energy Holdings
Owner-operator of regulated midstream pipelines and four community-scale solar arrays across the upper Midwest.
Calgary & Tulsa · 980 staff→
Industrialsest. 1922
Ironwood Manufacturing Co.
Precision-machined components for rail, aerospace, and heavy industry. Family-owned for three generations before joining the group in 2003.
Monroe, MI · 1,420 staff→
Logisticsest. 1976
Keelstone Maritime
Coastwise shipping and bulk transfer between Atlantic Canadian ports. Eleven vessels under the saltire flag.
Halifax, NS · 380 staff→
Real Assetsest. 1899
Larkfield Timber Trust
Sustainable hardwood timberland holdings across upstate New York and southern Quebec. Managed on hundred-year rotation cycles.
Saranac Lake, NY · 92 staff→
Mediaest. 1851
Meridian & Bell Press
Independent publisher of regional newspapers, agricultural journals, and a small backlist of literary fiction. Print remains profitable, surprisingly.
Madison, WI · 340 staff→
Real Assetsest. 1971
Northridge Realty Trust
Long-lease commercial real estate concentrated in secondary North-American cities. Managed internally without leverage at the trust level.
Charlotte, NC · 142 staff→
Specialty Materialsest. 1955
Obsidian Coatings GmbH
European producer of industrial coatings and protective finishes. Acquired in 1994 alongside Caldera. Bremerhaven and Lyon plants.
Bremerhaven, DE · 540 staff→
Industrialsest. 1916
Pemberton Valve Works
Industrial valves and flow-control hardware for water treatment and chemical processing. Quietly the world's largest by unit volume.
Akron, OH · 1,900 staff→
Agricultureest. 1948
Quentin Orchards
One of the last vertically-integrated apple growers in New England. Cold storage, cider press, and contract growing for regional grocers.
Northampton, MA · 280 staff→
Energyest. 1981
Ridgemoor Geothermal
Small-scale geothermal heat-pump installation and servicing across the Pacific Northwest. Acquired 2017.
Boise, ID · 210 staff→
Consumer Staplesest. 1899
Solace Provisions
A purveyor of preserved foods — pickles, mustards, smoked fish — sold under nine heritage labels across North America and Northern Europe.
Portland, ME · 612 staff→
Financialest. 1908
Tidewater Insurance Mutual
Mutual insurer specialising in coastal property and marine cargo lines. Joined the group in 2026 as our most recent acquisition.
Norfolk, VA · 720 staff→
Logisticsest. 1969
Verdant Logistics Group
Refrigerated trucking and cold-chain warehousing for regional food producers. Family-owned until 2009; sold to us by the third generation.
Memphis, TN · 1,600 staff→
Industrialsest. 1893
Whitford & Sons Bellfounders
One of the four remaining bellfounders in the English-speaking world. Bells from this foundry hang in cathedrals on five continents.
Loughborough, UK · 84 staff→
Mediaest. 1902
Yarrow & Hesse Cartography
Producers of nautical charts, topographic maps, and bespoke cartography for libraries, archives, and the occasional novelist.
Edinburgh, UK · 38 staff→
§ II
How We Source
We don't run
an auction process.
Roughly two-thirds of our acquisitions begin with a letter, an introduction from an existing portfolio company, or a chance conversation. The remainder come through advisors who have learned what we will and will not do.
i.
We will not bid in a process
If a banker has run a competitive auction, the price has already been set by people whose interests are not aligned with the seller's. We pass.
ii.
We do not require an exit
Our holding period is "indefinite." Sellers who want their company to continue under its own name find this useful. Sellers who want maximum proceeds at closing rarely do.
iii.
We close in cash
No earn-outs, no contingent consideration, no purchase-price holdbacks. The seller is paid in full at signing.
iv.
Operating management remains
We do not employ "interim CEOs." If management does not wish to continue, we are usually not the right buyer.
If your company
belongs on this list,
begin with a letter.
Our typical first conversation runs to several months. The earliest ones we have on file took years.
Write to the partners