News

New York, NY – October 23, 2018 – Stone-Goff Partners (SGP) announced today that it has invested in John Staurulakis, Inc. (“JSI”). Founded in 1962 and headquartered in Greenbelt, MD, with two additional major offices in Minneapolis and Austin, JSI is the leading national provider of regulatory and compliance consulting services to over 400 telecommunications providers in rural communities across the U.S. With over 100 employees and decades of experience serving their market, JSI's deep knowledge of the telecom industry and rural broadband markets is a key differentiator benefiting its longstanding client base. In addition to being the dominant provider of regulatory and compliance services to Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (“ILECs”), JSI also provides financial, business management and executive management training services to its client base.

“We are proud of the JSI team and the company we have built together,” said JSI President, Manny Staurulakis. “Going forward, JSI is thrilled to partner with Stone-Goff Partners as we enter our next phase of growth while also maintaining the Company’s legacy as being an advocate for telecommunications providers and the rural communities they serve.”

“JSI has numerous opportunities to expand our business and we look forward to pursuing them with Stone-Goff as partners,” said JSI's EVP, Leo Staurulakis.

“We are excited to partner with Manny, Leo and their team who will continue leading and building the Company,” said Laurens Goff, co-founder of Stone-Goff Partners. “JSI is a differentiated, mission-critical service provider with an experienced team and longstanding history of delivering high quality service with measurable success to its customers. The Company's depth of talent and expertise within the telecom regulatory landscape, and culture of growth underscores JSI’s exceptional potential.”

FOCUS Investment Banking served as the exclusive financial advisor to JSI in this transaction. Texas Capital Bank provided senior debt financing and Five Points Capital and RGA Private Debt & Equity provided mezzanine financing and equity co-investment.

About JSI

Founded in 1962 and headquartered in Greenbelt, MD, with two additional major offices in Minneapolis and Austin, JSI is the leading national provider of regulatory and compliance consulting services to over 400 telecommunications providers in rural communities across the U.S. With over 100 employees and decades of experience serving their market, JSI's deep knowledge of the telecom industry and rural broadband markets is a key differentiator benefiting its longstanding client base. In addition to being the dominant provider of regulatory and compliance services to Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (“ILECs”), JSI also provides financial, business management and executive management training services to its client base. For more information about JSI, please visit www.jsitel.com.

About Stone-Goff Partners

With offices in New York and Boston, Stone-Goff Partners is a private equity investment firm that acquires and builds companies in the lower middle market. Founded in 2010, the firm leverages the extensive investment, strategic and operational experience of its principals in the consumer and business services sectors to serve as a value-added partner for its management teams, portfolio companies and limited partners. For more information about Stone-Goff, please visit www.stonegoff.com.

Raynham, MA – March 22, 2018 – Centerline Communications, LLC (“Centerline” or the “Company”) announced today that it has acquired Tower Resource Management, LLC (“TRM”).

Headquartered in Foxboro, MA with additional offices in Hanover, MD and Hudson, NH, TRM is a provider of telecommunications infrastructure services in New England and the Baltimore-Washington region. Its service offerings include site acquisition, line & antenna construction, small cell and DAS deployments, electrical services and fiber networking.

The transaction further diversifies Centerline’s service offering, and is consistent with its strategy to be a true turnkey service provider to the telecommunications industry. The addition of TRM will enable Centerline to better serve its customers through an expanded geographic reach and deepened technical expertise. TRM President Sean Carr will join the Centerline senior management team.

Josh Delman, founder and CEO of Centerline, stated “we are excited to welcome TRM to the Centerline team, and are thrilled about the many benefits that this transaction and combined services platform will provide to our customers and employees.”

Centerline completed an equity recapitalization in August 2017 whereby Wincove Private Holdings, LP and Stone-Goff Partners became meaningful equity owners of the business, alongside Mr. Delman. Centerline continues to aggressively seek strategic acquisitions.

The companies did not disclose financial terms.

The shareholders of Centerline also operate an affiliated tower development business, TowerNorth Development LLC, which is also considering acquisition opportunities.

About Centerline Communications, LLC

Centerline provides turnkey wireless telecommunications infrastructure services to carriers, equipment suppliers, and tower operators. Services include project management and real estate services, outsourced maintenance services for HVAC and generator units at wireless sites, and general construction services including installation and equipment modification. Centerline provides services across the U.S., with a particularly strong presence in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic markets. For more information about Centerline, please visit www.centerlinecommunications.com.

About Stone-Goff Partners

With offices in New York and Boston, Stone-Goff Partners is a private equity investment firm that acquires and builds companies in the lower middle market. Founded in 2010, the firm leverages the extensive investment, strategic and operational experience of its principals in the consumer and business services sectors to serve as a value-added partner for its management teams, portfolio companies and limited partners. For more information about Stone-Goff, please visit www.stonegoff.com.

About Wincove Private Holdings, LP

Wincove Private Holdings is an investment holding company that creates long-term capital appreciation for its shareholders by partnering with business owners, entrepreneurs and management teams to build market-leading companies. With offices in Boston and NY, Wincove has a permanent capital base, and can therefore stay invested in its partner companies for an unlimited time horizon. For more information about Wincove, please visit www.wincove.com.

New York, NY – December 5, 2017 – Stone-Goff Partners (SGP) announced today that it has invested in DSG, a leading provider of outsourced sales training and enablement services to Fortune 500 and middle market companies in North America and Europe. The investment will support several new initiatives in terms of building out the executive team, new marketing initiatives and opportunistic acquisitions of complementary products or services.

Founded in 1994, DSG enables salesforces to implement their company’s growth strategy through customized sales enablement programs. Solution offerings include sales message creation, sales process design, sales coaching system development, in-person and virtual training and ongoing reinforcement and content updates post-launch. The Company serves a diverse, blue-chip customer base across six core verticals including Technology, Business Services, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Telecommunications and Financial Services.

“We are proud of the DSG team and the company we have built together,” said DSG President, Matt McClendon. “Going forward, DSG is thrilled to partner with Stone-Goff Partners as we enter our next phase of growth. After vetting numerous potential partners, DSG selected Stone-Goff for their partnership approach and their proven track record helping technology-enabled professional services firms maximize their growth potential,” McClendon noted.

“DSG needed a partner that not only understood the business, but could bring expertise on how to accelerate the expansion of both our team and our solutions as we seek to continue delighting our growing customer base,” said DSG VP of Sales & Marketing, Tanner Mezel.

“We are excited to partner with Matt, Tanner and their team who will continue leading and building the Company,” said Hannah Stone Craven, co-founder of Stone-Goff Partners. “DSG is a differentiated, outsourced sales training and enablement service provider with a talented team and longstanding history of delivering high quality service with measurable success to its customers. The Company’s depth of talent and expertise within the sales enablement market and culture of growth underscores DSG’s exceptional potential.”

CHILDS Advisory Partners served as the exclusive financial advisor to DSG in this transaction. East West Bank provided senior debt financing and Avante Mezzanine Partners provided mezzanine financing and equity co-investment.

About Stone-Goff Partners

With offices in New York and Boston, Stone-Goff Partners is a private equity investment firm that invests in lower middle-market founder-owned businesses and corporate carve-outs in the business services and consumer sectors. Founded in 2010 by Hannah Stone Craven and Laurens Goff, the firm leverages the extensive investment, strategic and operational experience of its principals to serve as a value-added partner for management teams, portfolio companies, and limited partners. Stone-Goff Partners is currently investing from Stone-Goff Partners II, LP. For more information, visit www.stonegoff.com.

Boston, MA – August 18, 2017 – Wincove Private Holdings, LP (“Wincove”) and Stone-Goff Partners (“Stone-Goff”) announced today that they have invested in affiliated companies, Centerline Communications, LLC (“Centerline”) and TowerNorth Development, LLC (“TowerNorth” and together with Centerline, “the Company”).

Headquartered in Raynham, MA, Centerline provides turnkey wireless telecommunications infrastructure services to carriers, equipment suppliers, and tower operators. Services include project management and real estate services, outsourced maintenance services for HVAC and generator units at wireless sites, and general construction services including installation and equipment modification. Centerline provides services across the U.S., with a particularly strong presence in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic markets. TowerNorth Development, an affiliated entity, is a telecommunications tower development company.

“We are excited to partner with Josh Delman, who will continue in his leadership as CEO and remain a large owner of the Company,” said Michael McGovern, partner of Wincove. “The Wincove, Stone-Goff and Centerline principals all have a longstanding relationship with each other spanning many years, and we are excited to consummate this business partnership. Centerline is recognized by its customers for its ability to deliver turnkey, high value-added services, and we believe there is great opportunity to continue to build out the complimentary TowerNorth business.”

“Josh Delman has built an impressive platform in the telecommunications services industry, and we look forward to partnering with him and his team,” said Laurens Goff, Managing Partner of Stone-Goff. “We are thrilled about the opportunity to support Josh in the continued growth of Centerline and TowerNorth.”

Josh Delman, CEO of Centerline stated, “Centerline is excited to partner with Wincove and Stone-Goff as we take the next step toward growing our Company’s reach. We are confident that Wincove’s and Stone-Goff’s experience and track record of building businesses will help fuel our continued growth.” For more information about the Company, please visit www.centerlinecommunications.com.

About Wincove Private Holdings, LP

Wincove Private Holdings is an investment holding company that creates long-term capital appreciation for its shareholders by partnering with business owners, entrepreneurs and management teams to build market-leading companies. With offices in Boston and NY, Wincove has a permanent capital base, and can therefore stay invested in its partner companies for an unlimited time horizon. For more information about Wincove, please visit www.wincove.com.

About Stone-Goff Partners

With offices in New York and Boston, Stone-Goff Partners is a private equity investment firm that acquires and builds companies in the lower middle market. Founded in 2010, the firm leverages the extensive investment, strategic and operational experience of its principals in the consumer and business services sectors to serve as a value-added partner for its management teams, portfolio companies and limited partners. For more information about Stone-Goff, please visit www.stonegoff.com.

Partnership With The Channel Company Will Accelerate Growth and New Initiatives

NEW YORK, NY – Stone-Goff Partners (SGP) announced today that it has invested in The Channel Company (TCC), the leading provider of IT channel-related media, events and other marketing solutions to the IT Channel. The investment will support several new initiatives in terms of growth in research, data, managed marketing services as well as opportunistic acquisitions of competitively-positioned industry participants.

Founded in 1982, Boston-based TCC is an IT channel-focused B2B marketing platform enabling technology companies to target and reach their channel partners. The company’s deep management team currently leads more than 100 employees focused on servicing its blue-chip customer base of over 400 technology companies and channel partners. TCC leverages its primary media outlet, www.crn.com, and its proprietary database with the largest and most accurate set of data regarding channel relationships in North America, to provide comprehensive IT channel marketing services.

Today, IT industry executives estimate that 70%+ of all technology sold into the corporate enterprise market in the Americas is facilitated by an IT channel partner. Through its media offerings, live events, consulting, proprietary research and managed marketing services, TCC helps its customers optimize their channel marketing strategy and drive new revenue through the indirect sales channel.

“We are thrilled to have found what we believe is a great partner in Stone-Goff,” said TCC CEO Robert Faletra. “We are growing so fast we had the luxury of looking for a partner that not only understands the business, but is clear in understanding how we can accelerate the buildout of our offerings and delight our customers,” Faletra noted.

“We are excited to partner with Bob and his team to enhance TCC’s fast growing service offerings through leveraging the Company’s dominant brand and proprietary database,” said Hannah Stone Craven, co-founder of Stone-Goff Partners. “The company’s depth of talent and expertise within the IT channel and culture of growth underscores TCC’s continued potential.”

CHILDS Advisory Partners served as the exclusive financial advisor to The Channel Company in this transaction. Citizens Bank, N.A. provided senior debt financing and Northstar Capital provided mezzanine financing and equity co-investment.

Successful Exit Of Pioneering Provider Of Teacher Professional Development

NEW YORK – Stone-Goff Partners (SGP) announced today that it has sold Learners Edge to L Squared Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in Newport Beach, CA specializing in education investments.

Based in Lakeville, Minn., Learners Edge is a leading direct-to-teacher provider of online professional development, continuing education and master’s degree programs for K-12 teachers. Founded in 2002 by two middle-school geography teachers, the company was established with the mission to help teachers advance their classroom skills and careers, while also improving student learning. Co-founders Joe Cotter and Kyle Pederson started with innovative distance-learning courses, enabling teachers to secure their education and training whenever and wherever they preferred. As the distancelearning model transitioned online, they invested heavily in an online platform that could deliver full course curriculum. Learners Edge is now the largest online direct-to-teacher continuing education provider in the U.S.

In 2013, Stone-Goff Partners invested alongside the company’s co-founders. With enhanced focus on reaching more teachers and developing proprietary online content, the business continued its rapid growth trajectory.

“The Learners Edge team – led by CEO Joe Cotter – developed a clear, mission-driven approach for the development and dissemination of continuing education for teachers. Our successful exit is a testament to the value created by the management team since our investment and demonstrates the company’s strength in helping on-the-ground teachers improve classroom instruction and student learning,” said Hannah Craven, co-founder of Stone-Goff Partners. “As the company’s first outside investor, we are honored to have been able to partner with Joe, Kyle, Julie Yaeger, Jenny Oelkers, Mark Hrubes and the entire Learners Edge team. We wish them and their new investment partners the very best as they continue to deliver high-value professional education to teachers around the country.”

George K. Baum Capital Advisors acted as exclusive financial advisor to Learners Edge in this transaction. Avante Mezzanine Partners provided debt and equity co-investment. Fredrikson and Byron P.A. served as legal counsel to Learners Edge.

Fund focused on U.S. Lower Middle Market Buyouts - Founder-Owned Businesses and Corporate Carve-Outs

New York, NY – Stone-Goff Partners (“SGP”) announced the closing of Stone-Goff Partners Fund II, L.P., (“Fund II”) a private equity fund focused on investments in businesses within the consumer and services verticals. Fund II will continue its predecessor’s successful lower middlemarket private equity investment strategy, generally investing between $6 million and $20 million in equity per transaction.

Following the initial closing, SGP is pleased to be in a position to deploy capital in attractive new opportunities, explained co-founder and partner, Hannah Stone Craven. “We are thrilled to announce another milestone in the evolution of SGP and honored by the reception we have received from new and existing investors.” The closing includes anchor investor Carl Marks & Co. as well as other investment groups from the U.S. and around the globe.

Leveraging a network of industry operating advisors, the Stone-Goff investment team has extensive investment experience, working closely with the management teams of its portfolio companies to enhance value. Stone-Goff Partners was founded in 2010 by Hannah Stone Craven and Laurens Goff, who bring decades of combined experience as private equity investors and strategic partners to lower middle-market companies. Collectively, the founders have invested more than $200 million of capital into more than 30 companies in the lower middle market.

The firm recently announced its first Fund II investment, The Greene Turtle Sports Bar & Grille, a 41-unit, sports-themed casual dining restaurant chain based in Maryland with units stretching from Virginia to New York. “We continue to identify and invest in companies with a great track record of stable, profitable growth,” said co-founder and partner Laurens Goff, “and we look forward to announcing additional investments in the near term.”

New York, NY – Stone-Goff Partners (“SGP”) announced today that it has acquired a controlling interest in The Greene Turtle Sports Bar & Grille, a family-friendly casual dining restaurant and dynamic sports bar with 41 company-owned and franchised locations across the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast and Appalachian regions of the United States. Terms were not announced.

Founded in 1976, “The Turtle” began as a Maryland institution and has since expanded to Delaware, Virginia, the District of Columbia, West Virginia and New York’s Long Island. The Greene Turtle currently has signed development agreements for franchise expansion in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Virginia and Maryland. Stone-Goff has partnered with the management team, including CEO/President Bob Barry, to accelerate the growth of the business. In 2015, The Greene Turtle has already opened four new locations; two additional locations are expected to open during the remainder of 2015.

“The Greene Turtle is a tremendous brand that represents great food in a sports-themed atmosphere,” said Laurens Goff of Stone-Goff Partners. “We are thrilled to partner with Bob Barry, his team, and Greene Turtle’s fantastic group of franchise partners to continue the chain’s growth throughout the Eastern United States.”

The Greene Turtle has more than doubled in size over the past several years and has signed several multi-unit development deals for new and existing markets. Barry said the support of its new owners will serve to further invigorate the chain’s operations and expansion efforts.

“This is both a great opportunity for us and a strong testimony to the incredible potential and increasing value of our organization,” he said. “Stone-Goff and its principals have worked closely with us in recent months to gain an understanding and appreciation of what makes The Greene Turtle so special. We look forward to continuing our growth and evolution under their ownership.

Raymond James & Associates advised the sellers on the transaction. Arrowpoint Partners provided financing to SGP.

New York, NY – Stone-Goff Partners announced today that it has sold its equity stake in Thymes, a leading bath, body and home fragrance brand, to a private equity consortium which included consumer-focused private equity firm Castanea Partners.

Originally founded in 1982 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Thymes creates highly curated fragrance collections with product lines that include body and hand lotions, bar soaps and bubble baths, candles, fragrance mists, potpourris, reed diffusers, and refresher oils. Thymes is seen as a premium and innovative brand that has a unique consumer appeal. The company is also home to one of the most recognizable and proven home fragrances, Frasier Fir. Thymes products are sold in over 5,000 specialty retail locations in the United States. Thymes is led by CEO Anne Sempowski Ward.

"To be associated with such a powerful brand was a privilege,” said Laurens Goff of Stone-Goff Partners. “We will truly miss working with Anne and her team and we are confident they will continue to grow and thrive with their extraordinary new partners."

"It has been a pleasure working with Stone-Goff in growing Thymes,” said Anne Sempowski Ward. “Their experience in supporting and building middle market companies has been essential to our success. We are well positioned for the future thanks to their early commitment and belief in the Thymes brand."

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

New York, NY – Stone-Goff Partners announced today that it has made an investment in Learner's Edge, a leading provider of continuing education courses and degree programs to K-12 teachers.

Based in Minneapolis, MN, Learner's Edge was founded in 2002 by two middle-school teachers, Joe Cotter and Kyle Pederson, who were convinced that there was a better way to provide continuing education courses that would lead to improved classroom instruction and student learning. Joe Cotter, CEO of Learner's Edge, continues to lead the company and shape its next stage of growth.

Since that time, Learner's Edge has helped tens of thousands of teachers grow their knowledge base, enhance their classroom instruction techniques, and increase student achievement by providing high quality, classroom-applicable professional development. Learner's Edge helps teachers by providing high-quality content and degree-eligible credits at an affordable price available online, anytime. Learner's Edge partners with academic partners such as Augustana College, Colorado State University-Pueblo, North Dakota State University, Marygrove College, Pacific-Lutheran University and Lourdes University to provide degree-eligible credits to teachers. In addition, Learner's Edge has partnered with Augustana College to provide a fully online masters of education degree program. Learner's Edge currently offers 80 relevant courses through its continuing education and affiliated masters programs.

New York, NY – Stone-Goff Partners announced today that is has acquired NAS Recruitment Communications from Interpublic Group. The transaction was completed in partnership with NAS' senior management team.

Based in Cleveland, Ohio, NAS is a leading marketing services agency specializing in media buying, human resources marketing and communications, and employment branding. NAS serves over 2,000 clients out of its 19 sales offices and Cleveland headquarters, including brands such as Toyota, Hyatt, US Cellular, Supervalu, Wendy's, Providence Healthcare, and the Children's Hospital Boston. Drawing on an understanding of relevant media channels, NAS designs successful engagement strategies for its clients' hiring needs.

As media channels proliferate, NAS helps employers address an increasingly complex landscape for locating, attracting, and developing talent, said Hannah Stone Craven, Partner at Stone-Goff Partners. NAS' longstanding client relationships and the team's ability to help their clients navigate a complex media and recruiting environment provide a meaningful opportunity to accelerate growth."

NAS Chairman Jim Miller noted, "With the ownership and strategic direction of our agency now in the hands of management and private equity partners, we will be even better positioned in the marketplace. Interpublic has been a great owner and partner over the last decade, however, under this new structure, NAS will be more nimble and better able to adapt to a constantly evolving set of dynamics in our space."

Laurens Goff, Partner of Stone-Goff added, "The opportunity to acquire NAS is an excellent match for Stone-Goff's strategy of investing in strong niche businesses with established track records and experienced management teams. We believe the opportunity to work with this team on new product development and strategic initiatives will deliver significant growth and value-creation."

CEO James Miller and Senior Vice Presidents Patty Van Leer and Matthew Adams, along with other key management members, will remain with the company in their current roles. Senior debt financing for the transaction was provided by First National Bank of Pennsylvania. MESA (Media and Entertainment Strategy Advisors) advised the seller. This transaction represents the third portfolio acquisition for Stone-Goff Partners.

Investment focus to include consumer, services, leisure, media, information and retail businesses

New York, NY – The principals of Stone-Goff Partners, LLC, Hannah Stone Craven and Laurens Goff are pleased to announce the formation of a new private equity partnership – Stone-Goff Partners LLC. This partnership represents the combination of two predecessor partnerships – Ayr Capital Management and Goff Management.

Stone-Goff Partners LLC will continue its mission of making investments in lower middle market companies ($2-$20 million in EBITDA). The partnership is backed by equity sources including family offices, financial institutions, and high net worth individuals.

Stone-Goff's principals both have deep backgrounds in private equity. Craven was most recently a partner with Sandler Capital Management, a private equity firm specializing in media/information investing that managed funds in excess of $1.5 billion. Goff was formerly a principal at Hampshire Equity Partners where he focused on investments in the consumer, retail and services sector.

For more information, visit www.stonegoff.com