(December 5 – 10:05 ET) – Argosy Partners Ltd. has launched a fund to buy out family businesses that aren’t passed on to the next generation.

Argosy, a private investment partnership based in Toronto, has launched The Succession Fund to buy these sorts of businesses. The fund, currently capitalized at $20 million, gives the retiring entrepreneur some liquidity, while offering shared ownership of a target company with its managers.

“We partner with long-term managers who can’t afford to buy the business on their own,” says Jim Ambrose, Argosy’s Finance partner. “We foster a partnership, so that once the entrepreneur is gone, the business — along with its management and key employees — continues on.”

The fund will focus on family-owned businesses in the manufacturing, distribution and service sectors. Companies eligible for investment will have sales of more than $10-million annually and an enterprise value of at least $5 million. The fund will also provide its portfolio companies with strategic, financial and operational expertise through its advisory board.

“We’ll only invest where we believe we can make a real contribution to strategic growth,” says Richard Reid, founding partner of Argosy. “And when we do, everyone will benefit.”
-IE Staff