LongWater Announces Final Closing of Inaugural SBIC Fund

Fargo, North Dakota — LongWater, a private markets investment firm focused exclusively on the lower middle market, today announced the final closing of its inaugural SBIC fund (the ​“Fund”). The Fund exceeded its target of $262,500,000, inclusive of private capital commitments and leverage provided through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (“SBA”) Small Business Investment Company (“SBIC”) program.
 

The Fund is the first SBIC fund within LongWater’s Capital Solutions platform, targeting direct private credit and non-control equity investments in lower middle market companies throughout the United States. The Fund focuses on partnering with private equity sponsors and management teams, providing flexible capital solutions to U.S. based businesses with strong fundamentals and meaningful growth potential, underserved by traditional capital sources.
The Fund received commitments from a diversified group of investors, including publicly traded and privately held banks, family offices, insurance companies, institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals, reflecting strong confidence in LongWater’s Capital Solutions team and its disciplined, relationship driven approach to lower middle market investing. Of this investor group, approximately 40% were first time investors into the SBIC Program. As a licensed SBIC, the Fund benefits from SBA-provided leverage, meaningfully enhancing its capacity to support small businesses across the country.


​“The final closing of the Fund marks an important milestone for our firm, our partners and for the lower middle market businesses we exist to serve. Building a first-time SBIC fund requires not only a compelling investment thesis but the trust of investors who believe in your team and your approach. We are humbled by the confidence our limited partners have placed in us and grateful to the SBA for their partnership throughout this process. This Fund embodies everything our Capital Solutions platform stands for: flexibility, speed and certainty for sponsors and portfolio companies that need a reliable capital partner who is relationship focused. We look forward to deploying this capital thoughtfully on behalf of our investors and creating meaningful value in support of the SBIC program.”
 

— Kevin Prunty, Senior Managing Director, LongWater Capital Solutions
 

The Fund is led by Kevin Prunty, Senior Managing Director, alongside Managing Directors Trevor Gibson, Nick Careklas, Ben Dinehart and Sam Panke. The Capital Solutions team is based in St. Louis, Missouri and collectively brings decades of experience deploying capital in the lower middle market. The team has a long track record of sourcing transactions through deep sponsor relationships and executing with the speed and certainty that lower middle market businesses require. To date, the Fund has invested capital in support of eight companies across the United States.

Long Water SBIC Final Close