Prairie Capital Mergers and Acquisitions Summary

Private Equity Firm Profile

In the last 3 years, Prairie Capital has acquired 8 companies. It has also invested in 1 other.

Prairie Capital’s most common sectors for investment areconsumer products (21%) and business services (9%) . The Firm’s most common investment types include buyout (lbo, mbo, mbi) (53%) and recapitalization (33%). In total, Prairie Capital has invested in 27 US states and 3 different countries. Its largest (disclosed) acquisition occurred in 2003 when it acquired Dynata for $92M.

In the last 3 years, Prairie Capital has exited 7 companies. The Firm’s most common exit type is secondary buyout (46%). Prairie Capital’s largest (disclosed) exit occurred in 2014 when it sold Cole Taylor Bank for $640M.

Join Mergr to view Prairie Capital’s full profile and discover more middle-market private equity firm investors just like it.

M&A Summary

  • M&A Total Activity132
    • M&A Buy Activity77
    • M&A Sell Activity55
  • Total Sectors Invested 32
  • Total Countries Invested 3
  • M&A Buy/Sell Connections 60
  • M&A Advisors 5

Prairie Capital

Prairie Capital

191 North Wacker Drive, Suite 800,
Chicago, Illinois 60606
United States
(312) 360-1133
www.prairie-capital.com
bdaniels@prairie-capital.com

Prairie Capital is a private investment firm that provides equity and/or mezzanine capital to support buyouts and recapitalization of lower middle-market companies generating sales of $20 - $100 million with an EBITDA of $4 - $12 million. Areas of interest include niche manufacturers, business services, consumer products, marketing services, specialty chemical, and food businesses. The firm invests in the range of $25 - $45 million per transaction. Prairie Capital was formed in 1997 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.


Investment Criteria

Sectors of Interest: Automotive, Business Services, Chemicals, Communications, Consumer Products, Consumer Services, Distribution, Education, Electrical Equipment, Electronics, Engineering, Environmental, Financial Services, Food, Furniture, Healthcare Services, Information Technology, Life Science, Manufacturing, Marine, Marketing, Medical Products, Metals/Mining, Packaging, Publishing, Retail, Safety/Security, Semiconductors, Software, Staffing

Target Transaction Types: Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI), Growth Capital, Recapitalization, Acquisition Financing, Secondary Buyout

Geographic Preferences: East US, Midwest US, South US, West US

Transaction Criteria Min Max
Target Revenue 20 100
Target EBITDA 4 12
Investment Size 25 45
Enterprise Value - -
values in millions of USD

M&A Summary

Buy vs Sell

Year ≤ '19 '20 '21 '22 '23 '24 T
Buy (2.4/yr) # 65 4 4 1 2 1 77
vol $92M $92M
Sell (1.6/yr) # 47 1 - 2 4 1 55
vol $662M $662M
  132

Most Recent M&A

Company Date Value Type
Kashi Clinical Laboratories 2024-07-20 - Recapitalization
Portland, Oregon · www.kashilab.com
Application Development Consultants LLC 2024-02-17 - Secondary Sale
Tampa, Florida · www.upshop.com
Blue Alliance 2023-12-19 - Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI)
Cincinnati, Ohio · www.bluealliance.com
Netalytics 2023-10-05 - Trade Sale
Greer, South Carolina · www.netalytics.com
Star Autism Support 2023-09-20 - Recapitalization
Portland, Oregon · www.starautismsupport.com
Right at School 2023-07-11 - Secondary Sale
Evanston, Illinois · www.rightatschool.com
Tower Engineering Professionals, Inc. 2023-04-12 - Secondary Sale
Raleigh, North Carolina · www.tepgroup.net
Architectural Lighting Works (ALW) 2023-02-15 - Trade Sale
Oakland, California · www.alwusa.com
Royal Distributing, Inc. 2022-11-01 - Recapitalization
Guelph, Ontario · www.royaldistributing.com
Fairway Lawns LLC 2022-05-18 - Secondary Sale
Little Rock, Arizona · www.fairwaylawns.com
View All >>

M&A by Sector

Sector Current # Value All-time # Value
Consumer Products 2 (11%) - 16 (21%) -
Business Services 1 (6%) - 7 (9%) -
Education 3 (17%) - 7 (9%) -
Electrical Equipment - - 4 (5%) -
Healthcare Services 3 (17%) - 4 (5%) -
Information Technology 2 (11%) - 4 (5%) -
Consumer Services 2 (11%) - 3 (4%) -
Manufacturing - - 3 (4%) -
Distribution 1 (6%) - 2 (3%) -
Financial Services - - 2 (3%) -
Food 1 (6%) - 2 (3%) -
Retail 1 (6%) - 2 (3%) -
Safety/Security - - 2 (3%) -
Software - - 2 (3%) -
Information Services - - 1 (1%) 92M (100%)
Apparel/Textiles - - 1 (1%) -
Automotive - - 1 (1%) -
Beverages - - 1 (1%) -
Communications - - 1 (1%) -
Engineering - - 1 (1%) -
Environmental - - 1 (1%) -
Internet Software and Services - - 1 (1%) -
Life Science 1 (6%) - 1 (1%) -
Machinery - - 1 (1%) -
Marketing - - 1 (1%) -
Medical Products - - 1 (1%) -
Metals/Mining - - 1 (1%) -
Packaging - - 1 (1%) -
Publishing - - 1 (1%) -
Semiconductors 1 (6%) - 1 (1%) -
Staffing - - 1 (1%) -
Technology Hardware - - 1 (1%) -
Total 18 - 78 $92M

Acquisitions By Geo

State/Country Current # Value All-time # Value
United States 17 (94%) - 76 (97%) 92M (100%)
  Illinois 1 (6%) - 11 (14%) -
  Florida 3 (17%) - 7 (9%) -
  Texas 2 (11%) - 6 (8%) -
  Ohio 3 (17%) - 5 (6%) -
  Oregon 2 (11%) - 5 (6%) -
  California 1 (6%) - 5 (6%) -
  New York 1 (6%) - 4 (5%) -
  Indiana 1 (6%) - 3 (4%) -
  Wisconsin - - 3 (4%) -
  North Carolina - - 3 (4%) -
  Minnesota 1 (6%) - 2 (3%) -
  Utah - - 2 (3%) -
  Tennessee - - 2 (3%) -
  Mississippi - - 2 (3%) -
  Michigan - - 2 (3%) -
  Massachusetts - - 2 (3%) -
  Iowa - - 2 (3%) -
  Alabama 1 (6%) - 1 (1%) -
  Kentucky 1 (6%) - 1 (1%) -
  Connecticut - - 1 (1%) 92M (100%)
  Arkansas - - 1 (1%) -
  Arizona - - 1 (1%) -
  South Carolina - - 1 (1%) -
  Pennsylvania - - 1 (1%) -
  New Hampshire - - 1 (1%) -
  Missouri - - 1 (1%) -
  Colorado - - 1 (1%) -
Canada 1 (6%) - 1 (1%) -
  Ontario 1 (6%) - 1 (1%) -
United Kingdom - - 1 (1%) -
Domestic 17 (94%) - 76 (97%) 92M (100%)
Cross-border 1 (6%) - 2 (3%) -
Total 18 - 78 $92M

Acquisitions by Deal Type

Type Current # Value All-time # Value
Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI) 5 (28%) - 41 (53%) 92M (100%)
Recapitalization 10 (56%) - 25 (32%) -
Secondary Buyout 1 (6%) - 5 (6%) -
Growth Capital 1 (6%) - 4 (5%) -
Acquisition Financing - - 1 (1%) -
Divestiture - - 1 (1%) -
Stake Purchase 1 (6%) - 1 (1%) -
Total 18 - 78 $92M

Exits by Deal Type

Type Total # Value
Secondary Sale 26 (47%) -
Trade Sale 12 (22%) -
Trade Sale - Public Company 8 (15%) 22M (3%)
Merger 4 (7%) 640M (97%)
Recapitalization 2 (4%) -
Bankruptcy 1 (2%) -
Sold to Management 1 (2%) -
Unknown 1 (2%) -
Total 55 $662M

Top M&A Advisors

Financial Deals
Livingstone Partners LLP
 1
BlackArch
 1
Lincoln International
 1
Legal Deals
Kirkland & Ellis
 1
Katten Muchin Rosenman
 1

Deal Values

buy # Total
< $100M 1 $92M
TOTAL $92M
Largest Dynata LLC
$92M (2003-02-07)
sell # Total
$100M to $1B 1 $640M
< $100M 1 $22M
TOTAL $662M
Largest Cole Taylor Bank, Inc.
$640M (2014-10-30)

M&A Connections

Deals
Acquired from
Investor(s)
6%
5 (6%)
Strategic(s)
1%
1 (1%)
Exited to
Investor(s)
51%
28 (51%)
Strategic(s)
38%
21 (38%)

Investor Summary

Investor Type

Private Equity Firm

Size

Middle-Market

PE Assets

525M USD

Established

1997

Specialist/Generalist

Generalist

Leadership

Bryan Daniels

Co-Founding Partner

Stephen King

Co-Founding Partner

Tom Weidaw

CFO & Compliance Manager

Michelle Nunez, SPHR

Managing Director – Human Resources

Chris Killackey

Partner

FAQ

When was Prairie Capital founded?

Prairie Capital was founded in 1997.

What type of investor is Prairie Capital?

Prairie Capital is a private equity firm.

Where is Prairie Capital headquartered?

Prairie Capital is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

How much capital does Prairie Capital have under management?

Prairie Capital has 525M USD under management.

 Subscribe to unlock this and 207,814
investor and company profiles

Sign-up today to get full access

  • check  Unlimited Searches
  • check  Unlimited Profile Views
  • check  Build and Export Lists of
    • PE Backed Companies
    • Direct Investors & Acquirers
    • Advisors
    • Deals
    • & More
1 Week Free Trial Learn More

What's Mergr?

We built Mergr to save people the arduous and time-consuming process of tracking when companies are bought, sold, and who currently owns them.

Every day, new opportunities emerge around M&A and we help professionals of all types comb through transactions, investors, and corporate acquirers via an easy-to-use web database that is accessible to anyone.

Try us for 1 week free today!

Mergr, the Easiest-to-Use PE and M&A DB

Key Benefits

  • Stay informed on events in your industry
  • M&A research that takes seconds (not all afternoon)
  • Better understand your customers and prospects
  • Discover active buyers (or sellers)
Search
  • 4.6K Private Equity Firms
  • 200K M&A Transactions
  • 203K Companies Involved in M&A
    (Buyer, Seller, or Target)
  • 3.6K M&A Advisors
    (Investment Banks and Law Firms)
  • 81K M&A Contacts
    (PE and M&A Advisors)

Ready to try?

Join FREE for 1 Week

No obligation. Cancel anytime.

Mergr

Product

Company

Legal