We act with the courage – built upon experience – to take businesses boldly beyond the horizon

About Us

Courizon Partners makes private equity investments in North American middle market industrial and consumer businesses facing defining moments of change.

Investing at these critical times requires the ability to rely on a careful examination of the past, to have the experience to make sound decisions in the present, and to possess the courage to act boldly when it is not entirely clear what will happen tomorrow.

We pursue opportunities where trust is paramount to owners and key stakeholders.

We approach these situations based on our experience, network, determination, and creativity.

We partner with management teams to execute game-changing initiatives that build strong and differentiated businesses for the long term.

Our Approach

We challenge ourselves to understand the story of what has made each business great over time.
We put aside sellside marketing materials to go see companies up close and meet management teams early – to appreciate the business today and what it can become.
We do not follow the herd. We do not invest in fads.
We focus on what is not obvious or what makes other investors reluctant to dive in – whether dynamics specific to a business, adjacent situations gone bad, or mistaken concerns about an industry.
We have the patience and discipline to wait for opportunities to come our way.
We only dive into new situations when we have the right expertise that is relevant and impactful – both for the moment and across the life cycle of our ownership.
We will never push to maximize financial leverage.
We build relationships and trust with key stakeholders, and use our skill, creativity and tenacity to figure out how to get deals across the finish line.

Investment Criteria

At Courizon, we are targeting or open to the following in our investments:
Industrial and Consumer businesses with headquarters or main presence in North America
Proprietary/off-market transaction opportunities or brokered auctions where the line of sight to a completed transaction is highly uncertain
At a defining moment of change whether family-owned, a corporate orphan or forced divestiture, stagnant under longtime financial sponsor ownership, or a troubled or distressed asset
Unique attributes including high customer or supplier concentration, complex supply chain dynamics, organized labor representation, and/or highly cyclical end-markets
$150 million to $750 million in annual revenue
$50 million to $150 million of equity in control situations
Clear growth potential that can be maximized under new ownership
Generate strong cash flow today or through the proper investment and support
Sector Focus
Consumer
Household & Personal Care
Food & Beverage
Hard Goods
Soft Goods
Sporting Goods & Active Lifestyle
Health & Wellness
Pet Care
Retail & Omnichannel
Industrial
Capital Goods
Automotive, Commercial Vehicles and Off-Highway
Building Products
Industrial Technology
Chemicals
Metals & Mining
Engineered Materials
Paper & Packaging
Specialty Distribution

Ownership 
Mindset

We believe that people matter far more than physical assets and numbers alone.
We know from experience that quality, talented leaders make better business decisions, develop stronger and more durable organizations, and ultimately drive outsized results.
We have an extensive network of seasoned executives, operators and advisors who augment our knowledge and enable us to drive meaningful value creation.
We protect and nurture a company’s key assets — tangible, intellectual and human capital — to ensure they are strong and battle-tested for whatever lies ahead.
We champion out-of-the-box thinking to achieve materially better outcomes for key stakeholders.
We put in place a capital structure to support investment for the long-term while always ensuring operating flexibility in the short-term.
We are not in the portfolio management business; we wake up every day focused on maximizing the potential of each individual investment.

Our Team

Evan LePatner
Managing Partner
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Martins Trautmanis
Vice President
See full bio