| Marwit Capital was founded
as “Marwit Capital Corp.” in 1962 by Martin
W. Witte (1918-1997) as one of the first licensed Small
Business Investment Companies (SBICs) in the United
States. During the first 32 years of its existence,
Marwit was an active investor in middle market businesses
throughout the U.S., and in every layer of the capital
structure, including senior secured high yield debt,
subordinated debt, and preferred and common stock.
During this first generation of Marwit, the firm invested
exclusively its own capital, and partnered on many
of its transactions with other investment firms. |
In 1994, the next generation
of Marwit was born with the formation of Marwit Capital,
LLC by Matthew L. Witte and Chris L. Britt, the two
Partners that have directed the firm for the past
decade. Marwit’s investment approach was sharpened
in the mid-1990s to focus on providing structured
equity and junior debt for buyouts and growth transactions
involving predominantly California based businesses
operating at the lower end of the middle market.
The investment discipline included control and non-control
investments, and in each case involved partnering
with an existing management team or hard charging
industry entrepreneur.
With the formation of Marwit Capital, LLC in the
mid-1990s, the firm accepted limited partner investors
for the first time in its history to supplement its
own capital. These capital partners are high net
worth individuals, including many successful entrepreneurs
and retired business executives. Since 1994, Marwit
has invested in and served as financial sponsor for
25 portfolio companies, generally investing $1 to
$5 million per company in one or a series of investments.
In most cases, Marwit has served as lead investor
or sponsor, though in some instances the firm has
partnered with co-investors including other private
equity firms where the total capital being invested
was $5 to $20 million.
Today, among businesses based in California and
the Western U.S. with revenues of $10 to $100 million,
and the banks, attorneys, CPA firms, and consultants
that advise them, Marwit is a recognized leader in
backing existing management teams in acquiring the
businesses they manage from a retiring or corporate
owner(s), and in partnering with hard charging entrepreneurs
in pursuing platform acquisition and build up strategies
in specific industries.
|
