Trivest Partners, L.P. is the oldest private equity firm in the Southeast U.S., founded in 1981, and focuses exclusively on founder and family-owned businesses. Trivest is headquartered in Miami, Florida with regional offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Toronto. Trivest has provided "Private Equity for Founders" in the lower middle market through its flexibility in transaction structuring and related "Just Say No" program, which eliminates the typical pain points faced by founders in a transaction. The firm focuses specifically on investments in the consumer, business services, healthcare, value-added distribution and niche manufacturing sectors. In 2019, Inc Magazine recognized Trivest on its inaugural list of the Top 50 Founder-Friendly Private Equity Firms.
Overview
The Trivest team is led by Managing Partner Troy D. Templeton. Troy joined the firm in 1989 and plays a key leadership role in Trivest's buyout activities, investment sourcing, resource allocation, portfolio oversight and firm administration. Jamie Elias, Jorge Gross Jr., Forest Wester, Russ Wilson and David Gershman are also Partners of Trivest. Trivest was an early entrant to the leveraged buyout space in the early 1980s and has completed investments in over 300 companies representing over $6 billion in value since its founding. Since its inception in 1981, Trivest has raised six institutional private equity funds, with total investor commitments of over $2.0 billion, dedicated to leveraged buyout investments in founder and family-owned middle market companies. Trivest is currently actively investing from Trivest Fund VI, raised in August 2018 with commitments of $630 million. In addition, in 2017 Trivest launched the Trivest Growth Investment Fund, a $225 million fund committed to making non-control and growth investments in founder and family-owned businesses. In 2019, Trivest deployed more than $200 million across 46 transactions, making it one of the most active firms of its size in the country. Additionally, two new funds were raised at the end of 2019, closing in early 2020: Trivest Growth Investment Fund II, a $435 million non-control fund; and Trivest Discovery Fund, a $235 million control fund, currently investing in smaller businesses within fragmented industries. The firm currently has 31 portfolio companies, accounting for $2.2 billion in aggregate sales and more than 11,000 employees portfolio-wide. Among the firm’s most notable prior investments are AM Conservation, Ellery Homestyles, Endeavor Telecom, Group III International, Hazmasters, National Auto Care, Onepath Systems, Pelican Water Systems, National Carwash Solutions, Take 5 Oil Change, Wise Company, HandStands, North Star Seafood, ATX Networks, Directed Electronics, Twinstar International, Herbal Magic, Aero Products International and Sun Pharmaceuticals.
