Cascadia Capital, one of the nation's most active independent middle-market investment banks, is pleased to announce that Ron Rivera has joined the firm as a Managing Director in the Software/Technology group. Mr. Rivera is based in Atlanta and will focus on providing M&A and corporate finance advisory to Cascadia’s clients across the broader Software/Technology industry landscape, including Enterprise Software, Mobility/Automotive Technology & Services and Tech-enabled Services.
With over 30 years of investment banking experience, Mr. Rivera has advised public and private clients, and investors on successful transactions totaling over $15 billion in value. He has closed landmark Software/Technology and Mobility transactions with notable clients and counterparties including Accenture, Belkin, The Michelin Group, Nuance Communications, Oracle, Salesforce.com, Zones, Goldman Sachs, Bregal Sagemount, The Gores Group, Marlin Equity, and many other market-leading companies and private equity firms.
“We are thrilled to add Ron to the Cascadia team,” said Michael Butler, Cascadia Chairman & CEO. “He is a respected veteran technology banker and brings with him deep relationships and extensive industry knowledge that augments the expertise of our Software/Technology team and extends our leading position in those segments. Adding a Managing Director of Ron’s caliber enhances the exceptional service and capability we deliver to our clients.”
Prior to joining Cascadia, Mr. Rivera was a Partner with Drake Star Partners and previously served as Managing Director, Head of U.S. Technology, Media & Telecom Investment banking at Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC. Previously, Mr. Rivera has served in senior advisory roles with nationally and internationally recognized investment banks and has built successful investment banking practices in key technology markets such as San Francisco/Silicon Valley, New York, Boston, and the Southeast.
“Cascadia is a premier investment bank with an exceptional track record, team, and reputation,” said Mr. Rivera. “The firm is terrifically positioned with its expanded national presence, broadened capabilities, and clear market momentum. I am honored to join Michael and his outstanding team of professionals and excited to help add to our leading franchises in Software/Technology and Mobility.”
Cascadia Capital, one of the nation's most active independent middle-market investment banks, is pleased to announce that Ron Rivera has joined the firm as a Managing Director in the Software/Technology group. Mr. Rivera is based in Atlanta and will focus on providing M&A and corporate finance advisory to Cascadia’s clients across the broader Software/Technology industry landscape, including Enterprise Software, Mobility/Automotive Technology & Services and Tech-enabled Services.
With over 30 years of investment banking experience, Mr. Rivera has advised public and private clients, and investors on successful transactions totaling over $15 billion in value. He has closed landmark Software/Technology and Mobility transactions with notable clients and counterparties including Accenture, Belkin, The Michelin Group, Nuance Communications, Oracle, Salesforce.com, Zones, Goldman Sachs, Bregal Sagemount, The Gores Group, Marlin Equity, and many other market-leading companies and private equity firms.
“We are thrilled to add Ron to the Cascadia team,” said Michael Butler, Cascadia Chairman & CEO. “He is a respected veteran technology banker and brings with him deep relationships and extensive industry knowledge that augments the expertise of our Software/Technology team and extends our leading position in those segments. Adding a Managing Director of Ron’s caliber enhances the exceptional service and capability we deliver to our clients.”
Prior to joining Cascadia, Mr. Rivera was a Partner with Drake Star Partners and previously served as Managing Director, Head of U.S. Technology, Media & Telecom Investment banking at Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC. Previously, Mr. Rivera has served in senior advisory roles with nationally and internationally recognized investment banks and has built successful investment banking practices in key technology markets such as San Francisco/Silicon Valley, New York, Boston, and the Southeast.
“Cascadia is a premier investment bank with an exceptional track record, team, and reputation,” said Mr. Rivera. “The firm is terrifically positioned with its expanded national presence, broadened capabilities, and clear market momentum. I am honored to join Michael and his outstanding team of professionals and excited to help add to our leading franchises in Software/Technology and Mobility.”
Cascadia Capital, one of the nation's most active independent middle-market investment banks, announced today that Owen Baldrica has joined the firm as a Director in the Food, Beverage & Agribusiness group. Mr. Baldrica will focus on providing M&A and corporate finance advisory to Cascadia’s clients across the Food & Agribusiness landscape, specifically Agribusiness & AgTech, Food Processors & Ingredients, Food Distribution, and Sports Nutrition sectors.
With a decade of investment banking experience, Mr. Baldrica has advised clients, both domestically and internationally, on successful transactions totaling over $2.5 billion in value. He has worked with both founder- and family-owned businesses, as well as sponsor-backed companies and developed a deep understanding of how these businesses transact, helping to drive optimal outcomes for clients.
“We are very excited to welcome Owen to the Cascadia team and extend Cascadia’s industry leading position in Food, Beverage & Agribusiness,” said Michael Butler, Cascadia Chairman & CEO. “Food, Beverage & Agribusiness remains a core growth area for Cascadia and Owen’s experience will allow us to even better serve our clients through his deep industry relationships and expertise.”
Cascadia Capital, one of the nation's most active independent middle-market investment banks, announced today that Owen Baldrica has joined the firm as a Director in the Food, Beverage & Agribusiness group. Mr. Baldrica will focus on providing M&A and corporate finance advisory to Cascadia’s clients across the Food & Agribusiness landscape, specifically Agribusiness & AgTech, Food Processors & Ingredients, Food Distribution, and Sports Nutrition sectors.
Prior to joining Cascadia, Mr. Baldrica was a part of Lazard’s Consumer, Food and Retail M&A practice, where he advised clients on sell-side and buy-side transaction and strategic advisory engagements. Before Lazard, he was with Wells Fargo Bank serving large food and agribusiness clients.
“I am thrilled and honored to be joining Cascadia as part of the Food, Beverage & Agribusiness practice,” added Mr. Baldrica. “The firm has an outstanding reputation for helping founder- and sponsor-owned businesses achieve their strategic goals and objectives, and I look forward to supporting and expanding our efforts.”
Based in Atlanta, Felton Most Recently Served as a Senior Member of the Private Credit and Hybrid Capital Team at Goldman Sachs
Cascadia Capital, one of the nation's most active independent middle-market investment banks, announced today the formal launch of its Capital Markets Advisory practice and expansion to the Atlanta market with the hiring of Managing Director Carle Felton.
Under Felton’s leadership, Cascadia’s Capital Markets Advisory practice will focus on sourcing flexible debt and equity for the firm’s sponsor and privately held business clients with concentrated expertise and high-touch execution. The firm’s expansion to Atlanta marks its continued geographic growth and anchors Cascadia’s presence in the increasingly active Southeast market.
“The Capital Markets Advisory practice is an important expansion of our sponsor coverage and middle-market company advisory offerings, delivering a competitive, thorough process with outstanding execution while allowing our clients to remain focused on their core opportunities,” said Cascadia Chairman and CEO Michael Butler. “Carle and the growing team in Atlanta will be supported by our deep network of relationships, as well as the differentiated industry expertise brought to the table by the whole of Cascadia’s sector-focused banking team nationwide.”
Felton joins Cascadia from Goldman Sachs Private Credit and Hybrid Capital, where he served as a senior member of the team originating debt and equity investments for middle-market clients. His deep experience on the buyside — investing up and down the balance sheet on sponsored and non-sponsored transactions — uniquely equips him with the tools to serve as a close advisor to Cascadia’s clients throughout the duration of a transaction. Cascadia’s Capital Markets Advisory team will not only be heavily involved in the beginning marketing and term sheet phases, as is standard in the market, but will also remain actively engaged in the negotiation, legal documentation, and closing phases to foster better outcomes for its clients.
“In addition to underpinning debt financing solutions for private equity partners, the Capital Markets Advisory practice will work to support the financing needs of private independent companies, provide innovative combinations of debt and structured equity solutions to enable internal recapitalizations, and aid companies seeking capital for the first time,” added Felton. “I am proud to join the Cascadia team and expand the firm’s presence in Atlanta as well as the Southeast more broadly.”
Prior to Goldman Sachs, Felton held the role of Director in Leveraged Finance at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey (now Truist) and, before that, Vice President of Global Sponsor Finance at General Electric Corporation (now Antares Capital). Felton is a CFA charterholder, a Certified Public Accountant, and earned a Master of Accountancy from the University of Georgia.
“We are thrilled to have Carle’s steady hand at the helm as we grow our Capital Markets Advisory practice, supporting existing and new clients as they navigate an increasingly complex financing environment,” said Cascadia Managing Director Scott Ames, head of the firm’s Financial Sponsors Group. “The strong lender and investor relationships Carle has cultivated over his more than 15 years working with private equity firms and private companies, in combination with Cascadia’s longstanding network and resources, will help ensure certainty of execution and market-best terms on behalf of our clients.”
Cascadia Capital, one of the nation's most active independent middle-market investment banks, announced today that Kevin Frisch has joined the firm as a Managing Director. Mr. Frisch will focus on providing M&A and corporate finance advisory to Cascadia’s clients in the Advanced Manufacturing and Aerospace, Space & Defense sectors.
“We are very excited to welcome Kevin to the Cascadia team and extend Cascadia’s focus and expertise in both Advanced Manufacturing and Aerospace, Space & Defense,” said Michael Butler, Cascadia Chairman & CEO. “These are growing and dynamic sectors, and Kevin is one of the pre-eminent bankers in the space, with deep industry relationships with both business owners and financial sponsors alike. We are looking forward to working with him to expand and complement our Industrial franchise and have him contribute his extensive knowledge in assisting Cascadia clients.”
Mr. Frisch brings to Cascadia over 25 years of investment banking experience with extensive expertise in Mergers and Acquisition transactions, as well as private and public debt and equity capital raising. Most recently, he was a Managing Director and Head of Industrials at Imperial Capital where he founded the Advanced Manufacturing & Supply Chain practice. Prior to Imperial, he advised Industrial Technology and Additive Manufacturing companies at FBR Capital Markets. After receiving his MBA from the Booth School at the University of Chicago, Mr. Frisch began his career as a Mergers and Acquisitions specialist in Industrials at Lehman Brothers. His early experience includes Oppenheimer & Co. and Chase Securities.
“Kevin brings a tremendous amount of firepower to our coverage footprint that will augment our industrials effort and elevate our broader platform,” continued Butler. “Cascadia has added significant talent over the last year. Kevin, alongside our growing senior leadership team, will play an integral role in our next phase of growth as we continue our long-term commitment of delivering superior outcomes for our clients.”
“I’m honored to join Cascadia Capital. The firm’s outstanding reputation, along with its commitment to excellence, are unique in the marketplace,” added Mr. Frisch. “ I am excited to be a part of a fast-growing platform that allows me to continue to focus on both Advanced Manufacturing and Aerospace, Space & Defense — sectors that complement the firm’s existing practices in Industrials and Robotics, Automation & Artificial Intelligence.”
Cascadia Capital, an investment bank serving middle market clients globally, is pleased to announce that Connie (Wessman) Wilson has joined the firm to augment Cascadia’s coverage team as a Vice President of Business Development. Connie will work with our close colleagues in the dealmaking community to enhance deal flow and referrals, as well as our experienced industry bankers to build long-term relationships with business owners and high-growth companies across the U.S.
Prior to joining Cascadia, Connie fostered deep relationships with middle market companies as a Vice President, Relationship Manager at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. She was classically trained in credit underwriting prior to her role in relationship management.
“I could not be more excited to add Connie to the team,” said Katherine Bellows, Managing Director. “Her years of experience and strong relationships further strengthen our coverage capabilities and will allow us to identify and create more opportunities and deliver greater value to our clients and partners.”
“I’m thrilled join the Cascadia team during this time of significant growth and momentum,” added Connie. “I have a passion for helping entrepreneurs and business owners, which is a perfect cultural fit with Cascadia’s long-term relationship and client first orientation.”
Cascadia Capital, an investment bank serving middle market clients globally, is pleased to announce that Meredith Mann has been appointed by the Board of Directors to the role of Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. As CFO, she will be responsible for scaling finance, strategic planning, human resources, technology and operations functions to support a significantly larger firm with a broader footprint. Through the use of KPIs, standardized metrics and quantitative analysis, she will bring greater rigor to our decision making process.
Prior to taking on the CFO role, Meredith spent 10 years in the finance industry, most recently as a Vice President in the Business Services group at Cascadia. Prior to her work at Cascadia, Meredith was at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation supporting Global Health initiatives. Meredith started her career in various investment banking roles at the Royal Bank of Scotland and Mizuho Securities.
“Meredith has time and again demonstrated exemplary financial and business acumen, and exceptional leadership, consistently impressing our management team and Board of Directors,” said Cascadia Chairman & CEO, Michael Butler. “She brings creativity, solid judgement, and a deep understanding of our industry to this role, which will be instrumental in continuing the firm’s growth.”
This appointment comes at a pivotal time for Cascadia, as the firm looks to build on recent momentum and fuel continued product, industry, coverage and geographic scaling of the platform following the strategic investment from Atlas Merchant Capital at the end of 2022.
“Meredith was a driving force in facilitating the successful completion of the Atlas transaction, proving her value as a senior leader of the firm,” Butler added. “At Cascadia, we are intentional about recognizing our highest performing individuals and positioning them within the firm to realize their greatest personal and professional successes.”
“I’m tremendously honored to step into this role, particularly during a time of such significant growth and opportunity for our organization,” said Mann. “We have an outstanding team with deep experience and a powerful combination of talent and strategic vision, and I am looking forward to supporting the firm’s growth initiatives to build the Cascadia of tomorrow and ultimately deliver the best service and highest value to our clients and partners.”
Ms. Mann is based in the firm’s recently opened Austin Office alongside Mr. Butler and a growing team of experienced investment banking professionals.
With the first month of 2023 behind us, we’d like to take a moment to look back on what's happened in the last year and thank our clients, partners, and team for a wonderful year. We are grateful to work with so many amazing and innovative entrepreneurs, family businesses, and private equity firms, as well as the talented and steadfast service professionals of the deal-making community who, together, build the high-quality growth companies with which we are honored to be associated.
Despite a challenging and volatile market environment, the last year has been defined by growth for Cascadia. Our most significant highlights include:
We have served clients across the industry verticals we cover, providing trusted advice and counsel, and ultimately facilitating successful transactions that often exceed client expectations. We thank our clients above all else for trusting us with their business. Your success is our success, and it is an honor to work with you.
Our team has long held deep expertise and transaction experience in niche segments across a variety of industries. We remain committed to our sub-vertical industry structure, with each of our bankers focusing tightly on specific segments of an industry. This allows us to provide the most innovative and expertise-driven service for our clients, as well as to align the right individuals within our network, across industries of common focus.
Once again, thank you to all of our clients and partners. We believe the prospects for 2023 are strong and look forward to working with you all in the coming year ahead. Please reach out if there is any way we can be helpful.
In 2022 and early 2023, several Managing Directors and senior investment banking professionals were hired and promoted to augment our experienced industry and coverage teams.
James Cartales Promoted to Managing Director at Cascadia Capital February 3, 2022
Cascadia Capital is pleased to announce the promotion of James Cartales to Managing Director in the firm’s Consumer & Retail group. As a Managing Director, Mr. Cartales will continue to provide M&A advisory and equity capital raising services to founder and family-owned companies across the ecommerce, experiential retail, and consumer services sectors.
Mr. Cartales joined Cascadia Capital in 2013 and has been involved in over 40 transactions over the last nine years at the firm. During that time, he has played a central role in Cascadia’s marquee consumer transactions [….continue reading….]
Scott Ames Joins Cascadia Capital to Launch Financial Sponsor Coverage Efforts March 8, 2022
Cascadia Capital, an investment bank serving middle market clients globally, is pleased to announce that Scott Ames has joined the firm as Managing Director of Financial Sponsor Coverage. In this role, he will continue to develop and institutionalize relationships with leading private equity firms, family offices and other capital players across the U.S. Mr. Ames will work closely with Cascadia’s industry sector bankers to make valuable connections, effectively coordinate deal flow, and leverage bankers’ sub-vertical expertise to provide buy-side, sell-side and financing services to the firm’s clients and institutional partners.
“Following a national search, Scott is the best cultural fit and the clear right choice to launch this dedicated effort at Cascadia. He will provide an unwavering focus to our approach of building deep strategic relationships with private equity and family office firms [….continue reading….]
Cascadia Capital Welcomes Corey Berse as Managing Director, Operations July 2022
Corey Berse serves as Managing Director, Operations for Cascadia Capital. He is responsible for the firm’s operations across Human Capital Management, IT and Information Systems, Compliance and Facilities Management. He has a particular focus on helping ensure the firm’s strategic growth through effective practices across recruiting, development and employee experience.
Prior to joining Cascadia, Corey spent 16 years with Houlihan Lokey in a variety of roles across Business Unit Management and Operations, Marketing and Human Capital Management [….continue reading….]
Cascadia Capital Adds Technology Focused Managing Director, Jim Stone, to Austin Office January 5, 2023
Cascadia Capital, an investment banking firm focused on growth companies in the middle market, is pleased to announce that Jim Stone has joined the firm as a Managing Director in the Technology practice. Mr. Stone is based in Cascadia’s Austin office where he will bolster the firm’s presence in Texas. He will continue to focus on providing M&A, capital raising, and corporate finance advisory services to software and tech-enabled services clients in the fintech, payments, healthcare IT, government, and legal tech sectors, as he has throughout his 26-year investment banking career.
Mr. Stone brings his experience as a client success-driven investment banker, former corporate growth executive, and former business lawyer to benefit Cascadia clients. He has completed more than 70 M&A and capital raising transactions for growth companies and has successfully closed sell-side and buy-side engagements for leading private equity firms [….continue reading….]
Cascadia Expands its Financial Sponsor Coverage Group with Addition of Kerri Hagen January 11, 2023
Cascadia Capital, an investment bank serving middle market clients globally, is pleased to announce that Kerri Hagen has joined the firm as a Director in the Financial Sponsor Coverage group. In this role she will be responsible for expanding the financial sponsor coverage platform, with a focus on broadening and deepening relationships with middle-market private equity firms and other institutional investors in the Northeast. Ms. Hagen will work closely with Cascadia’s industry and product bankers to make senior-level connections, and effectively deliver Cascadia’s deal flow and leading investment banking services to our private equity clients.
“I’m thrilled to have Kerri join our Financial Sponsor Coverage group to lead our coverage efforts in the Northeast [….continue reading….]
Additional Cascadia Promotions January 2023
Novan Le was promoted to Senior Vice President in Cascadia Capital’s Healthcare Group, focused on M&A and growth equity advisory for healthcare technology and services companies. Novan brings over 10 years of corporate finance and M&A experience working with public and private companies in the healthcare and technology sectors. [….continue reading….]
Cascadia was also pleased to promote five team members to the position of Vice President and 5 team members to the position of Associate.
Cascadia Capital, an investment bank serving middle market clients globally, is pleased to announce that Kerri Hagen has joined the firm as a Director in the Financial Sponsor Coverage group. In this role she will be responsible for expanding the financial sponsor coverage platform, with a focus on broadening and deepening relationships with middle-market private equity firms and other institutional investors in the Northeast. Ms. Hagen will work closely with Cascadia’s industry and product bankers to make senior-level connections, and effectively deliver Cascadia’s deal flow and leading investment banking services to our private equity clients.
“I’m thrilled to have Kerri join our Financial Sponsor Coverage group to lead our coverage efforts in the Northeast,” noted Scott Ames, Managing Director and Head of Financial Sponsor Coverage. “She brings a breadth of experience and relationships to our platform and will play an instrumental role in delivering Cascadia’s services to the private equity community.”
Ms. Hagen joins Cascadia from Gemspring Capital, a middle market private equity firm, where she was the Director of Business Development responsible for sourcing new investments and driving the firm’s business development efforts and investment banking relationships. Prior to joining Gemspring, Ms. Hagen was a Senior Business Development Consultant at Axial, where she assisted in the deal sourcing and M&A efforts of middle market private equity firms, family offices and lenders. Before Axial, she served as Vice President, Equity Sales at The Buckingham Research Group. Early in her career, Ms. Hagen assisted the research, sales, and trading functions of investment banks while at IHS Markit (formerly Ipreo, a portfolio company of Blackstone and Goldman Sachs).
“I am excited to join Cascadia’s talented group of professionals with deep sector expertise and be a part of a rapidly-growing firm,” said Ms. Hagen. “I believe Cascadia can add significant value to financial sponsors and I look forward to continuing to help build these relationships.”
“The addition of Kerri further enhances our team and allows us to more broadly deliver our leading industry and product resources to the financial sponsor community,” added Cascadia Chairman & CEO, Michael Butler. “We have achieved record growth in recent years and we will continue to fuel our strong momentum with great hires like Kerri. We are far from done adding world-class talent to this platform.”
Cascadia’s Financial Sponsor Coverage group focuses on developing and institutionalizing relationships with leading private equity firms, family offices and other capital providers. The firm’s financial sponsor clients value Cascadia’s high-quality middle market deal flow, outstanding execution, and ability to deliver Cascadia’s resources through coordination of activities across sectors and product groups.
To learn more about or connect with Cascadia's Financial Sponsor Coverage team, please contact:
Cascadia Capital, an investment banking firm focused on growth companies in the middle market, is pleased to announce that Jim Stone has joined the firm as a Managing Director in the Technology practice. Mr. Stone is based in Cascadia’s Austin office where he will bolster the firm’s presence in Texas. He will continue to focus on providing M&A, capital raising, and corporate finance advisory services to software and tech-enabled services clients in the fintech, payments, healthcare IT, government, and legal tech sectors, as he has throughout his 26-year investment banking career.
Mr. Stone brings his experience as a client success-driven investment banker, former corporate growth executive, and former business lawyer to benefit Cascadia clients. He has completed more than 70 M&A and capital raising transactions for growth companies and has successfully closed sell-side and buy-side engagements for leading private equity firms. Prior to investment banking, Mr. Stone was Vice President of Corporate Development at Affiliated Computer Services (later sold to Xerox), a leading Dallas-based fintech/payment processing, IT services, and information storage company. Before ACS, he was an M&A and corporate law attorney.
“Jim is a terrific addition to the Cascadia team and we are thrilled to welcome him to the Austin office,” noted Michael Butler, Chairman and CEO of Cascadia Capital. “He is a talented banker with broad and deep industry relationships, significant experience and recognized industry expertise that will allow us to better serve our technology clients here in Austin and beyond.”
“I am truly excited to join Cascadia Capital to support tech-enabled clients and help the firm grow and expand its presence in Austin,” added Mr. Stone. “The city has grown tremendously in the last few years, especially in the technology sector, and since I first moved to Austin in 1985. I’m thrilled to join a platform that has committed to growing with the business community here and helping founder and private equity owned businesses explore their liquidity and growth financing options."
To connect with or learn more about Mr. Stone, please visit his profile on the Cascadia website here.
Cascadia announced the opening of its Austin office in November 2022. In the same month, Cascadia Capital closed a strategic growth equity investment from an investment fund affiliated with Atlas Merchant Capital LLC. With the additional resources from the investment and the Atlas team’s support, Cascadia continues its geographic, product, team, and sponsor coverage growth nationwide. Learn More.
We are excited to share that Cascadia Capital’s strategic growth equity investment from an investment fund affiliated with Atlas Merchant Capital LLC has officially closed following routine regulatory approval. With the additional resources from the investment and the Atlas team's support, Cascadia will continue its geographic, product, team, multi-industry, and sponsor coverage growth nationwide.
Cascadia Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO Michael Butler and Co-Founder & Managing Director Kevin Cable sat down with Atlas Founding Partner & CEO Bob Diamond to discuss how the investment is already adding exciting momentum to the firm’s growth, client services, and team expansion plans.
To speak with our team or learn more about how this partnership will further enable us to achieve successful outcomes for the businesses and capital providers we serve, please reach out.
Expanding Cascadia’s industry expertise, product offerings and financial sponsor coverage to Texas and beyond
Cascadia Capital, one of the nation's most active independent middle-market investment banks, today announced the opening of a new office in Austin, Texas, marking the firm’s fifth office in the U.S., alongside Seattle, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Nashville. Cascadia Chairman and CEO, Michael Butler, has relocated to Austin to build and lead the new location. The firm expects to recruit and hire aggressively from the incredible pool of local talent and individuals seeking to relocate.
“Austin – and the broader Dallas, Houston, San Antonio corridor - is an innovative and fast-growing region, home to and continually attracting young talent, seasoned entrepreneurs, growth businesses, investors and Fortune 500 companies,” said Butler. “We see a very unique opportunity in Austin, as the epicenter of four large, growing markets in Texas, to fill a gap in the robust ecosystem of business advisors and service providers, and bring our independent and flexible middle market advisory services to bear for the benefit of our clients and partners throughout Texas and the greater Southwest.”
Cascadia offers family business owners, entrepreneurs, private equity, family offices and other institutional investors a variety of services from valuation and fairness opinions to equity and debt capital raising, to both buyside and sellside M&A and recapitalizations. The firm provides sub-sector nuanced guidance across industries, including Business Services; Consumer & Retail; Energy Transition & Climate Tech; Food, Beverage & Agribusiness; Healthcare; Industrials; Robotics, Automation & Artificial Intelligence; and Technology.
With clients and partners throughout the U.S. and around the world, Cascadia has a strong and growing presence in key strategic markets. Establishing the Austin office underscores the firm’s strategy to focus on fast growing markets, expand and enhance the Cascadia team and product offerings, increase collaboration and deal flow with financial sponsors, and ultimately deliver the most impactful client experience to business owners and investors.
“We are thrilled to join the vibrant community of Austin,” added Butler. “This is a natural continuation of Cascadia’s tremendous growth trajectory and an opportunity to meaningfully enhance our platform by expanding our geographic footprint and client coverage.”
This is one of several growth announcements the firm intends to make in the coming months. In September, Cascadia announced that it had reached a definitive agreement to secure a strategic growth equity investment from an investment fund affiliated with Atlas Merchant Capital LLC. With additional resources from the investment and the Atlas team’s support, Cascadia will continue its geographic, team, product, industry and sponsor coverage growth nationwide.
Atlas agrees to invest in one of the nation's largest remaining independent investment banks poised for significant team, product, and sponsor coverage expansion
Cascadia Capital, one of the nation's most active independent middle-market investment banks, has reached a definitive agreement to secure a strategic growth equity investment from an investment fund affiliated with Atlas Merchant Capital LLC. With the additional resources from the investment and the Atlas team's support, Cascadia will continue its geographic, product, team, multi-industry and sponsor coverage growth nationwide.
"We have achieved record growth in recent years and are thrilled to have found the right partners in Atlas to continue on this exciting trajectory," said Cascadia Capital Chairman and CEO Michael Butler. "Atlas brings the value-added resources we desired in a capital partner, allowing us to continue in lockstep with the middle-market founders, family owners, and executives we serve while accelerating our private equity coverage and product offering expansion."
Cascadia provides businesses and investors with sub-sector nuanced guidance in a range of industries, including Business Services; Consumer & Retail; Energy Transition & Climate Tech; Food, Beverage & Agribusiness; Healthcare; Industrials; Robotics, Automation & Artificial Intelligence; and Technology. The firm will proactively hire additional experienced bankers and cohesive teams to augment its existing sector expertise, initially focused on growing the healthcare, technology, and industrial technology teams. With clients across the U.S. and around the world, the firm has a strong and growing presence in strategic markets, including Seattle, Austin, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Nashville.
"Across the broader investment banking landscape, large Wall Street banks have become less entrepreneurial, less versatile, and more like utilities. This shift — coupled with the recent wave of consolidation — underscores the critical need for what Cascadia brings to the market as an innovative and flexible independent firm. We are proud to align our firm with this talented team," said Atlas Merchant Capital Founding Partner and CEO Bob Diamond.
"Maintaining its independence and middle-market focus with the support and resources of Atlas will allow Cascadia a distinct advantage — providing an inherently more flexible and impactful client experience with outstanding industry coverage and outsized product depth and breadth," added Atlas Founding Partner and CIO David Schamis.
In addition to team and vertical coverage expansion for its robust merger and acquisition and strategic advisory services, Cascadia plans to deepen its existing debt capital markets, capital raising, fairness opinion, and valuation practices. A cornerstone of the investment is driving increased collaboration and deal flow with financial sponsors.
“This investment will enable us to further enhance our team to more broadly deliver our leading industry and product resources to the financial sponsor community,” said Cascadia Managing Director Scott Ames, head of the firm’s Financial Sponsor Coverage practice. “We look forward to expanding these relationships while continuing to provide middle-market companies with the sector-focused guidance that has made Cascadia one of the most active independent advisors in the market.”
Perkins Coie provided legal counsel, and Houlihan Lokey served as Cascadia’s financial advisor in connection with the transaction.
This investment is subject to the satisfaction of FINRA regulatory approvals.
About Cascadia Capital
Cascadia Capital is an independent investment bank providing middle-market entrepreneurs, family-owned businesses, and private equity firms with merger and acquisition, capital raising, and strategic advisory services. For over 20 years, the firm has strived to deliver the best outcomes for its clients by leveraging its extensive transaction experience, deep domain expertise, and commitment to building long-term relationships. Cascadia is a pure advisory firm and is not conflicted by trading, lending, research, or cross-selling business. For more information, visit the firm's website at www.cascadiacapital.com.
About Atlas Merchant Capital LLC
Atlas Merchant Capital LLC was founded to participate in compelling market opportunities in the financial services sector. Based in New York and London, Atlas Merchant Capital was founded by Bob Diamond and David Schamis, who, together with their partners, form a complementary partnership with extensive operating and investing expertise across the financial services landscape. Further information is available at www.atlasmerchantcapital.com.
Cascadia Capital, an investment bank serving middle market clients globally, is pleased to announce that Scott Ames has joined the firm as Managing Director of Financial Sponsor Coverage. In this role, he will continue to develop and institutionalize relationships with leading private equity firms, family offices and other capital players across the U.S. Mr. Ames will work closely with Cascadia’s industry sector bankers to make valuable connections, effectively coordinate deal flow, and leverage bankers’ sub-vertical expertise to provide buy-side, sell-side and financing services to the firm’s clients and institutional partners.
“Financial sponsors are a significant part of our business, and we have developed deep relationships within the ecosystem over the past two decades,” noted Michael Butler, Chairman and CEO of Cascadia Capital. “In recent years, an increasing number of our engagements have involved private equity firms and other sponsors, which has created demand for a dedicated and coordinated financial sponsor coverage effort to allow the firm to better serve this constituency.”
With the support and partnership of our clients and partners, and a historic M&A market, Cascadia closed 51 transactions in 2021. Over 65% of Cascadia’s transactions were M&A advisory and of those, 40% were sold to private equity firms. Over 30% of Cascadia’s clients last year were institutionally-backed pre-transaction.
“We are thrilled to have Scott aboard to lead financial sponsor coverage for Cascadia,” added Mr. Butler. “Following a national search, Scott is the best cultural fit and the clear right choice to launch this dedicated effort at Cascadia. He will provide an unwavering focus to our approach of building deep strategic relationships with private equity and family office firms, aligning our areas of industry expertise with a sponsor’s specific investment criteria and ROI goals to deliver the best possible outcomes and opportunities for our clients and partners. There are very few firms that can successfully serve entrepreneur and family-owned businesses as well as they can institutionally-backed organizations, and I believe Cascadia is one of them. Those capabilities are strengthened with the addition of Scott.”
“I’m looking forward to working alongside a talented group of senior industry sector experts at Cascadia Capital to help institutionalize relationships with leading financial sponsors,” said Mr. Ames. “The firm has such a strong reputation and track record across multiple industry verticals, and I’m excited to bring these capabilities to bear for the benefit of Cascadia’s financial sponsor clients.”
Mr. Ames joins Cascadia from Lazard, where he was a senior member of the Financial Sponsor Coverage group and led the firm’s West Coast efforts. He will be based in Cascadia’s Minneapolis office and will serve our clients and partners across the U.S. To learn more or connect with Scott Ames, please visit his bio here.
Cascadia Capital is pleased to announce the promotion of James Cartales to Managing Director in the firm’s Consumer & Retail group. As a Managing Director, Mr. Cartales will continue to provide M&A advisory and equity capital raising services to founder and family-owned companies across the ecommerce, experiential retail, and consumer services sectors.
Mr. Cartales joined Cascadia Capital in 2013 and has been involved in over 40 transactions over the last nine years at the firm. During that time, he has played a central role in Cascadia’s marquee consumer transactions, such as the sale of Air Waves to Hybrid Apparel, the sale of 2nd Ave Value Stores to BRS & Co. and Rosser Capital Partners, and Flagship Food Group’s recapitalization of La Tortilla Factory.
“James has been an integral leader of the firm for many years and has steered some of Cascadia’s largest and most complex transactions,” noted Michael Butler, Cascadia Capital Chairman & CEO. “He is tremendously deserving of this promotion and has long displayed the expertise and capabilities necessary to serve our consumer clients with the highest caliber, trusted advice and support.”
As a founding member of the Consumer & Retail practice, Mr. Cartales has been instrumental in reshaping the firm’s consumer focus, particularly in light of COVID-19’s evolving impact on the retail sector.
“We believe Consumer & Retail will continue to be a vibrant industry for Cascadia’s investment banking platform. However, the sector has undergone significant change over the past three years,” added Bryan Jaffe, Cascadia Managing Director. “James is highly knowledgeable about consumer behavior and has deep expertise in the business models that are resonating today and will likely continue to resonate in the foreseeable future, in particular within apparel and accessories and home furnishings. Additionally, his experience in unit-economic models is applicable to both the physical and digital channels that our clients sell through.”
"I am honored to receive this promotion and look forward to continuing to contribute to Cascadia’s long term growth objectives by effectively serving our exceptional clients,” Mr. Cartales added.
James Cartales is based in Cascadia’s Seattle office and serves Cascadia's consumer clients across the U.S. For more information, visit his bio here.
As we head into our 23rd year in business, we are thankful to reflect on the record year we had in 2021. First and foremost, thank you to our clients, as your success is our success. We are grateful to work with so many amazing entrepreneurs, family businesses and private equity portfolio companies who have built high-quality growth companies with which we are honored to be associated.
Second, we have a deep appreciation for all of our partners in the deal-making community, who we rely on to assist us and our clients on legal, accounting, quality of earnings, tax, finance, and financial advisory matters. It takes a village to make successful transactions happen, and we are thankful to have first-class partners aligned with us to deliver the best outcomes for our clients .
Finally, thanks to the Cascadia employees, especially our dedicated team of execution bankers, for the all-in effort last year to maximize value for our clients, while expanding our platform in the Northwest and nationally. As we reflect on an extraordinary year in 2021 and forecast ahead for the coming year, we will continue to invest in expanding our geographic reach and industry expertise in 2022 and beyond.
With the support and partnership of our clients and partners, and a historic M&A market, Cascadia closed 51 transactions in 2021. If you are interested in more information on our 2021 transactions, you may download a complete list below.
65% of our transactions were M&A, 20% were equity capital raises, and the remainder strategic advisory mandates
20% of our clients were headquartered in California, which we view as major growth market for the firm in the coming years
Geographic expansion was ongoing with the addition of a Nashville team and our growing Southern California office
The Value of Industry Sub-Vertical Expertise
Our team has long held deep expertise and transaction experience in niche segments across a variety of industries. We remain committed to our sub-vertical industry structure, with each of our bankers focusing tightly on specific segments of an industry. This allows us to provide the most innovative and expertise-driven service for our clients, as well as to align the right individuals within our network, across industries of common focus.
We remain bullish on the prospects for 2022 and look forward to working with you all in the coming year ahead. Please reach out if there is any way we can be helpful.
Cascadia Capital, an investment bank serving middle market clients globally, continues its growth with an expansion into the Nashville market and addition of a dedicated local team covering healthcare services. This move adds to the firm’s industry depth and national coverage. Moreover, Cascadia’s healthcare team has grown significantly, and we view the expansion as a deepening of a core focus area within one of our most active practice groups.
Nashville is one of the nation's most diverse and robust economies, and home to a multitude of middle market businesses and a thriving investor community, particularly within healthcare. The Middle Tennessee healthcare industry alone generates more than $92 billion in revenue and more than 570,000 jobs*. Coined the healthcare capital of the U.S., Nashville is a nexus of healthcare companies and investors, with tremendous innovation and a broad network of top industry players. Having boots on the ground in Nashville will allow us to better support our healthcare clients nationwide and globally.
Cascadia’s Nashville presence will be led by Vice President Vitaliy Marchenko, with a focus on expanding Cascadia’s healthcare services coverage, capitalizing on the firm’s recent transactions in women’s health and fertility and behavioral health, as well as expanding efforts within other physician practice management areas.
Since its formation, Cascadia’s healthcare practice has become a pillar of the firm’s evolution to industry centric, deep domain investment banking, having closed more than 45 transactions. The team has had the privilege of supporting over a dozen healthcare clients in the last 12 months in capital raising, buy and sell-side M&A processes. Eight of those transactions were completed in 2021.
“With all of this activity and the record hot M&A and capital markets, Cascadia is investing in growing and expanding its healthcare team for the benefit of our partners and clients,” noted Michael Butler, Cascadia Capital Chairman and CEO. “Our team in Nashville creates a dedicated local presence in a large and established market that has shown significant opportunity for the firm across the industries we serve.”
“Nashville is an ideal location for both the firm’s overall expansion and as a base for our growing healthcare services coverage,” added Kevin Cable. “The cumulative pooling of health-related innovation, talent and entrepreneurship has a compounding effect of attracting more healthcare expertise and driving new business creation and partnership. Cascadia can naturally add value to that ecosystem through our client-centric advisory work.”
Cascadia recognized a similar market concentration of medical device companies in Minneapolis, where the firm has had an office since 2015. In 2020, we welcomed Managing Director Adam Stormoen to lead the Minneapolis branch – bringing with him over 20 years of investment banking experience with medical device companies.
“We are mapping the deep industry vertical expertise on our team to geographies that are strategic to those sectors, as we believe that allows us to meet the growing needs of the industry’s players and create the most value for business owners and entrepreneurs,” added Mr. Butler.
Other markets that Cascadia is eyeing as possible expansion opportunities include Pittsburgh, Austin, and Raleigh-Durham.
* Source: Forbes, April 12, 2021: Nashville Is The Health Services Capital – Here's Why This Explosively Growing Region Is More Than Music City USA.
Cascadia Capital, an investment bank serving middle market clients globally, is pleased to announce the promotions of Scott Porter and Matthew Riendeau to Managing Director.
“I’m very pleased to welcome Scott and Matt to the group of nearly 20 Managing Directors at Cascadia Capital,” said Cascadia CEO, Michael Butler. “These two individuals embody Cascadia’s entrepreneurial, hardworking, and client-focused culture. They have very deep industry expertise in verticals with extremely strong growth dynamics, which allows them to provide the thoughtful, high-quality advice and counsel we pledge to all of our clients.”
As a Managing Director in the firm’s Food, Beverage and Agriculture group, Scott Porter has been instrumental in building the firm’s Agribusiness practice into one of the most active in the country. Mr. Porter has particular expertise in the Production Agriculture, Agriculture Inputs, Food Processing & Ingredients, and AgTech subsectors. He has over 10-years of dedicated Food and Agribusiness banking experience and has been involved in 35 transactions with more than $3 billion in total value since 2014.
Prior to joining Cascadia, Mr. Porter was with Moss Adams Capital and Wells Fargo Bank, where he supported clients across multiple industries, with extensive focus on Agribusiness sell-side, buy-side, financing, and strategic advisory transactions.
Since joining Cascadia in 2017, Mr. Porter has played a central role in executing some of firm’s most meaningful Food and Agribusiness transactions including the capital raise of Auvil Fruit Company, the sale of Firestone Pacific Foods, the acquisition of FruitSmart, the sale of Western Polymer Corp, and the sale of Specialty Sales, among others.
“On behalf of the entire Food, Beverage and Agribusiness group at Cascadia Capital, we congratulate Scott on this well-deserved promotion,” said George Sent, fellow Cascadia Managing Director in the Food, Beverage & Agribusiness practice. “His industry expertise, extensive network, and his ability to collaborate both internally, as well as outside of the firm, have led to great success. We look forward to partnering with Scott for years to come.”
Matt Riendeau has been a core member of Cascadia’s Technology group since 2009. He has extensive domain expertise across the software sector, and co-founded the firm’s DevOps and Sales, Marketing & Support practices.
In his decade plus career at Cascadia Capital, Mr. Riendeau has helped shape the firm’s Technology practice and executed more than 20 transactions worth over $2 billion. He has closed several seminal industry transactions, including the growth financing of Airbrake, the sale of Movere to Microsoft, and the acquisitions of Papertrail, Scout and Travis CI.
“Matt is an outstanding banker with a deep knowledge of his industry sub-verticals,” noted fellow Managing Director, Christian Schiller. “Importantly, Matt exemplifies Cascadia’s core values in his long-term and client-centric approach, assisting companies to optimize their exit, often working with them over years to add value and optimally position them to achieve their goals.”
“At Cascadia, we have worked very hard to build a culture to develop and promote our bankers and team members,” added Butler. “We have a deep bench of talented individuals throughout the organization and Scott and Matt personify our client-focused philosophy. Their promotions demonstrate our long-term commitment to cultivating our people as we expand our business for the benefit of our clients and business partners.”
We began this year optimistically, and while that sentiment remained through our team’s discussions this year, it certainly has been challenged at times by COVID’s impact on our lives—both in the business and personal realms. Despite these obstacles, we are grateful for how 2020 is shaping up for Cascadia and our clients, and appreciative of those who have worked with us to forge ahead, focusing on bright spots amid the uncertainty in the broader economic landscape.
We are seeing successful outcomes for our clients, as valuations for growth companies that have performed well through COVID are as strong or even stronger than before the pandemic began. This dynamic has been a key driver of activity this year, and an impetus for sustained momentum in Q4.
Below, we’re sharing a few highlights of our activity and insights to-date in 2020.
Busier Than Ever in Q4: Transaction Activity
Keeping a Pulse on What’s Now and What’s Next: Sub-Vertical Insights
Tackling the Fourth Industrial Revolution: RAAI Practice Launch
Growing the Cascadia Family: Team Updates
Thought Leadership and COVID-19 Insights
Preparing for a Strong Start to 2021: A Look Ahead
Busier Than Ever in Q4
Cascadia has closed over 20 deals this year—17 of those since March. As we round the corner toward the election and the end of the year, things are busier than ever, and our team is experiencing record activity. We have a high level of active engagements, with 20 transactions under LOI and many deals set to close before the ball drops on a sparsely populated Times Square this New Year’s Eve.
Keeping a Pulse on What’s Now and What’s Next
COVID’s nuanced impacts to industry sub-segments reinforced the decision we made to organize our teams under sub-vertical focuses. Throughout 2020, we have offered sub-vertical insights from our team so those in our network can benefit from their deep industry knowledge.
Read our newest “What’s Now and What’s Next?” pieces from Erik Einwalter on momentum in the plant-based foods sector and from George Sent on how buyers are evaluating opportunities in the branded food world.
Tackling the Fourth Industrial Revolution: RAAI Practice Launch
With the Fourth Industrial Revolution well underway, we announced the formation of our Robotics, Automation, and Artificial Intelligence (RAAI) Practice earlier this month. As one of the nation’s first emerging growth investment banking practice groups dedicated to these sectors, our team is well-positioned to provide the nuanced M&A and capital raising guidance business owners and entrepreneurs in this sector need as RAAI technology continues to upend critical industries, resulting in permanent market shifts.
Thought Leadership and COVID-19 Insights
Throughout the year, we’ve also shared our thoughts on how the Coronavirus is impacting M&A and capital markets, as well as deep dives in select industries.
Cascadia Capital, one of the nation's most active independent middle-market investment banks, is pleased to announce that Ron Rivera has joined the firm as a Managing Director in the Software/Technology group. Mr. Rivera is based in Atlanta and will focus on providing M&A and corporate finance advisory to Cascadia’s clients across the broader Software/Technology industry landscape, including Enterprise Software, Mobility/Automotive Technology & Services and Tech-enabled Services.
With over 30 years of investment banking experience, Mr. Rivera has advised public and private clients, and investors on successful transactions totaling over $15 billion in value. He has closed landmark Software/Technology and Mobility transactions with notable clients and counterparties including Accenture, Belkin, The Michelin Group, Nuance Communications, Oracle, Salesforce.com, Zones, Goldman Sachs, Bregal Sagemount, The Gores Group, Marlin Equity, and many other market-leading companies and private equity firms.
“We are thrilled to add Ron to the Cascadia team,” said Michael Butler, Cascadia Chairman & CEO. “He is a respected veteran technology banker and brings with him deep relationships and extensive industry knowledge that augments the expertise of our Software/Technology team and extends our leading position in those segments. Adding a Managing Director of Ron’s caliber enhances the exceptional service and capability we deliver to our clients.”
Prior to joining Cascadia, Mr. Rivera was a Partner with Drake Star Partners and previously served as Managing Director, Head of U.S. Technology, Media & Telecom Investment banking at Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC. Previously, Mr. Rivera has served in senior advisory roles with nationally and internationally recognized investment banks and has built successful investment banking practices in key technology markets such as San Francisco/Silicon Valley, New York, Boston, and the Southeast.
“Cascadia is a premier investment bank with an exceptional track record, team, and reputation,” said Mr. Rivera. “The firm is terrifically positioned with its expanded national presence, broadened capabilities, and clear market momentum. I am honored to join Michael and his outstanding team of professionals and excited to help add to our leading franchises in Software/Technology and Mobility.”
