We have built a diverse portfolio of market-leading businesses with a focus on long-term value creation
Our Investments
As a direct co-control investor, Silverfern employs an active diversification strategy to generate superior risk-adjusted returns, seeking to mitigate systemic risk through geographic diversification, while managing local market risk through industry and asset class diversification. Silverfern partners with qualified, in-market, on-the-ground, locally expert investment partners who we select in every investment we make. By partnering with investors who we know and trust well, we can effectively be “local” in everything we do globally.
Silverfern believes that its ability to understand complex situations by drawing on the industry specialization and deep local market knowledge embedded in its two global information networks and to apply multiple transaction structures to address such opportunities, enables it to develop deep investment insights and to act as a globally diversified industry specialist, avoiding competition from both strategic and financial buyers and clearly distinguishing Silverfern from generalist firms and investors.
Silverfern has demonstrated expertise in a wide variety of transaction structures and acquisition scenarios, including take private transactions, broken auctions, company owners seeking financial partners that can help maximize their future exit valuations (e.g., Paladone, CPS), uncovering unique value (e.g., CPAP.com), off-market investments with attractive risk/reward characteristics (e.g., LSI) and the formation of new entities to exploit episodic opportunities (e.g., Sequitur Energy).
Private Equity
We have 7 companies in our current Private Equity portfolio, based in 3 investment regions, with operations spanning the globe.
Based in Houston, CPAP.com is the top internet retailer of Sleep Apnea equipment in the world. CPAP.com offers a large product offering, a peer support community and exceptional customer service to further our mission of being the place for all things Sleep Apnea. Founded in 1999, CPAP.com led the Sleep Apnea self pay movement and hosts CPAPtalk.com, the world’s largest peer to peer support community for CPAP users.
Company website:
www.cpap.com
CPS Technology & Infrastructure is one of Australia’s most accomplished, trusted and experienced Telecommunication infrastructure deployment organizations. Established in 1992, it serves all major Australian Telecommunications carriers and has an outstanding record of reliable delivery. CPS has considerable expertise with a wide variety of Telecommunications projects. Its multi-disciplined service professionals take projects from site acquisition through to commissioning. CPS operates Australia wide and has experience with roll outs in several international markets.
Company website:
www.cpstech.com.au
Eptec is an Australian-based specialist engineering contractor focused on asset preservation and maintenance services to the marine sector (defense and commercial) and other critical transport and infrastructure assets.
Le Sueur is a leading supplier of complex and pressure-tight aluminum castings and plastic injection molding components. Le Sueur specializes in utilizing permanent mold, sand casting, die casting, plastic injection molding, and precision machining manufacturing processes, with its dedicated engineering team to provide customers with the most cost-effective method of manufacturing.
Company website:
www.lesueurinc.com
Paladone, based in the United Kingdom, is a leading seller of a broad assortment of licensed consumer products. Paladone’s products are sold all across the globe in all tiers of retailers including specialty retail, online, department, fashion and mass-market stores.
Scentia is a licensed, private provider of higher and vocationally-focused education courses and training programs across Australia, through both on-line and face-to-face learning at its five capital city campuses. Scentia offers a range of certificates, accredited diploma, undergraduate and post-graduate degree courses as well as (unaccredited) short courses and open training programs to ~44,000 domestic students per annum.
Sequitur Energy Resources, LLC is a an oil and gas exploration and production company, which was formed to opportunistically consolidate under-exploited U.S. onshore oil and gas assets.
New Energy Venture was formed to acquire or develop multi-family and commercial real estate assets located in geographic markets which are impacted by U.S. energy exploration and production activities.
Silverfern has a solid investment track record of thirty-three (33) global private equity and private equity-real estate platform investments, including:
- Twenty-five (25) full exits; two (2) partial exits
- Seven (7) private equity investments and one private equity-real estate investment currently being managed
- Investment geographies include: United States, Australia, UK
- Investment industries include: Consumer, E-Commerce, Education Services, Energy/Exploitation & Production, Industrial Manufacturing, Maintenance and Remedial Services, Telecommunication Services
Select Prior Silverfern Investments Include:
Silverfern Private Equity Fund I (2008 – 2012)
Silverfern made six (6) platform investments in its Fund I portfolio:
Ladder Capital Corp I
Ally Financial II
APR Energy I
Carlile Bancshares
Ladder Capital Corp II
O-Tex Holdings
Specialty Finance
Financial Svcs
Power/Business Svcs
Financial Svcs
Specialty Finance
Energy/Oil Field Svcs
North America
North America
Global
North America
North America
North America
Exited
Exited
Exited
Exited
Exited
Exited
Silverfern additionally made two (2) follow-on investments in its Fund I portfolio, for a total of eight (8) investments made during the Fund I Investment Period (average of 1.5 investments completed per annum).
Silverfern Global Opportunities Fund II (2012 – 2018)
Silverfern made fourteen (14) platform investments in its Fund II portfolio:
LocusPoint Networks
CSS Corp.
Sequitur Energy Res.
New Energy Venture
Orange Capital Partners
Club Mediterranee
IKKS Group
Tempo Apartments
APR Energy II
Continental Bakeries
Broad River
Waste Services
SAI Global
Marvel Packers
Telecom
IT Services
Energy/E&P
MFR
MFR
Hospitality
Consumer
MFR
Power/Business Svcs.
Consumer/Food
Power
Business Services
Business Services
Consumer/Food
North America
Global
North America
North America
Europe
Global
Europe
North America
Global
Europe
North America
Australia
Global
Australia
Exited
Exited
Partially Realized
Partially Realized
Exited
Exited
Exited
Exited
Exited
Exited
Exited
Exited
Exited
Exited
Silverfern additionally made nine (9) follow-on investments in its Fund II portfolio, for a total of twenty-three (23) investments made during the Fund II Investment Period (average of 4.5 investments completed per annum).
Silverfern made 3 platform investments ahead of Silverfern Global Opportunities Fund III’s first close.
Chilean Power Assets
Renewables / Infrastructure
South America
Exited
Eptec
Maintenance and Remedial Services
Australia
Unrealized
Tidewater Transportation & Logistics
Transportation & Logistics
North America
Exited
Silverfern Global Opportunities Fund III (2021 – )
Silverfern is currently investing out of Silverfern Global Opportunities Fund III, L.P. and its separately managed accounts.
American Medical Technologies
Medical Services and Supplies
North America
Exited
CPAP.com
E-Commerce
North America
Unrealized
CPS
Telecommuncation Services
Australia
Unrealized
Le Sueur
Industrial Manufacturing
North America
Unrealized
Paladone
Licensed Consumer Goods
Global
Unrealized
Pioneer
Waste Recycling Services
North America
Exited
Scentia
Education Services
Australia
Unrealized