Read the full story at https://medium.com/@tjmaloney1/lincolnshire-management-and-tj-maloney-2019-the-year-in-review-247b1140bb73
With over three decades of success building value, our team at Lincolnshire Management looks forward to expanding current and future investment opportunities in 2020 and beyond. To understand our future direction, it’s a good time to take a look back at some highlights of the past year.
In June, the firm added four new investment professionals, including two senior associates and two analysts. Matthew Nacier rejoined after working in the crypto industry, and Nicolas Vega-Llona joined after graduating from Columbia Business School; both are senior associates. Georg Stolt-Neisen and Yashna Ginodia, recent graduates from Georgetown and New York University, respectively, have had a great start as analysts. The addition of these young professionals demonstrates our commitment to growth through attracting talent with a passion for Lincolnshire’s creative, hands-on investment strategies.
In a similar vein, our commitment to the future remains as we continued our summer internship program. Lincolnshire Management has always offered internship opportunities to both post-graduate and undergraduates. Interns during the summer of 2019 included Alessio Amaturo, Caroline Herule, Alyssa Iferenta, Courtney Lyons, Luke Ian McKenna, and R.J. Pye. The internship program allows students and recent graduates to gain more knowledge about private equity and the Lincolnshire approach.
Lincolnshire Management announced three key investments in 2019:
As an illustration of our creative growth strategy, the team, led by Philip Kim and Pieter Kodde, completed the acquisition in October of multiple complementary assets: Powerhouse, Security Vault Works, and One Source Security and Sound.
Powerhouse: Based in Crowley, Texas, is an outstanding tech-enabled national provider of multi-site rollouts, refresh, and remodels for large blue-chip customers.
Security Vault Works and One Source Security and Sound (“SVW”): The country’s biggest self-serve kiosk and ATM installation provider for financial institutions
Powerhouse and SVW offer unique but complementary services. Lincolnshire Management’s resources, combined with each company’s respective employees and large networks of partners and customers, has given us an opportunity to scale their customer base and explore additional services.
Part of Lincolnshire’s focus is on tech-enabling traditional manufacturers and service businesses. Powerhouse is a good example of Lincolnshire’s strength in sourcing and supporting tech-enabled traditional businesses.
One of our Fund IV portfolio, TRUE Sports, acquired two companies, Accra Golf and Aerotech. Having started originally as the leading golf shaft manufacturer, TRUE Sports has grown to become a leading innovator in equipment for golf, hockey, lacrosse, and baseball. The acquisitions further strengthen TRUE Sports’ position as the leading provider of golf shafts.
In July, Accra Golf joined the family of brands at TRUE Sports. Accra is known for its design and development of premium composite golf shafts, designed specifically for the high-end custom fitting segment. This is the fastest-growing channel in the golf market, with the highest price points.
Aerotech is another high-end golf shaft designer. The company’s SteelFiber line combines high-strength steel filaments with carbon fiber; it is the only composite-steel hybrid shaft in the market. These acquisitions will help TRUE Sports further cement its place as the dominant player in the golf shaft space, with the most technologically advanced product offerings.
True Hockey also made news in January after introducing their first roller hockey skate. One of our Managing Directors, Jim Binch and TRUE Sports CFO, Jason Jenne, were featured in the Wall Street Journal article “Lincolnshire Steers True Sports Through a Challenging Golf Industry,” covering how TRUE Sports has reinvented itself under our ownership.
In January, Lincolnshire appointed Chris Considine, formerly the CEO of Wilson Sporting Goods as CEO of TRUE Sports. With Chris, we are looking forward to TRUE’s continued growth as they keep developing new technologies allowing for the perfect fit, customization, and control.
Together at Lincolnshire, we manage about $2 billion in private equity investments. To achieve our goals, we look for profitable companies within growth industries. At the same time, we have a deep pool of internal industry talent that can help portfolio companies solve existing operational issues and grow into their potential. Strong leadership, a talented team, and a broad network of contacts will continue to contribute to our success and growth.
Going into 2020, Lincolnshire’s deal teams will continue exploring new opportunities that fit our value investment approach. We believe our operational team will remain focused and busy finding continuous improvement and tech-enablement opportunities within our current portfolio of companies and the new companies we acquire. Internally, we will continue to grow our young talent as they continue to mature into more influential roles at the firm. Most importantly, our commitment to ESG will continue as we find new ways to help our companies have a positive impact on their employees and industries. 2020 will be a busy year for us at Lincolnshire, but we’re looking forward to all it has in store.
About Lincolnshire Management and its CEO TJ Maloney
A New York City private equity firm founded in 1986, Lincolnshire Management, implements a collaborative approach that relies upon research and experience to invest in companies. The firm can also offer its portfolio members operational focus and assistance to help fund and fuel growth. The CEO and Chairman of Lincolnshire Management, TJ Maloney, joined the firm in 1993 and works actively with its partners. During his time with Lincolnshire Management, he served on several corporate boards, and a few examples include Credentials Services International, Polaris Pool Systems, and Wabash.
Before leading Lincolnshire, TJ Maloney first earned a BA from Boston College and a JD from Fordham Law School. After growing up in family businesses, Mr. Maloney began practicing law in New York City. He focused on transactions involving securities, mergers, and acquisitions. He also formerly served as Co-Chair of the Boston College Wall Street Council, and the Boston College, Tilton School, and Fordham University Board of Trustees. Mr. Maloney received the Richard J. Bennett Memorial Award from Fordham Law School in recognition of corporate leaders who maintain high moral standards.
Although Maloney has enjoyed a long and storied career, he credits inheriting many of his leadership ideas to early experience working for his father’s businesses. When he worked for his father, he assumed roles that included quality control, engineering, sales, and collections. These responsibilities made him very aware of business processes and ways to spot avenues for improvement. Since he first joined Lincolnshire, he has worked to help improve business processes and operations of the companies in their portfolio with an eye towards growth. One aspect of the work he loves is helping companies find areas for operational improvement. To help improve portfolio companies and select new acquisitions, TJ Maloney works closely with his team to conduct research and analysis. At the same time, he also spends time with the company’s management and sometimes hires outside consultants with specific areas of expertise. By digging deep into a company, getting to know its management, and seeking expert analysis when he needs it, Maloney and his team can select the best companies to invest in and then help them prosper even more.
Maloney says all of what we do at Lincolnshire is a team effort, “I certainly cannot do all of these things on my own and am inspired every day by the talented people here at Lincolnshire.”