Black Bay Partners

What Black Bay Partners does

Black Bay Partners is a lower middle-market private equity firm founded in 2016 and headquartered in New Orleans, with a secondary office in New York. The firm specializes in control investments across the North American energy value chain and related chemical and industrial sectors, pursuing companies that make the sourcing, delivery, and consumption of energy cleaner, safer, more reliable, and more affordable. Across three institutional funds — Fund I ($224M, 2018), Fund II ($210M, 2022), and Fund III ($425M, 2026) — the firm has raised over $850 million in cumulative capital commitments from institutional limited partners.

The portfolio comprises 15+ wholly-owned operating companies spanning managed pressure drilling (ADS Services), variable frequency drive systems (Advanced Industrial Devices), recycled fuel and chemical additives (Allied Petrochemical), proprietary H2S treatment (Altara), oilfield equipment (Capture Energy), water treatment chemistry (Clean Chemistry), stimulation fluids (Downhole Chemical Solutions), AI-driven production and emissions reporting (Enovate AI), natural gas storage infrastructure (Gulf Coast Midstream Partners), sulfur treating catalysts (Merichem Technologies), production measurement automation (SCS Technologies), and AI-powered industrial inspection (Scope). Realized exits include Altitude Energy Partners (sold to Cathedral Energy Services), NexGen Chemical Technologies (sold to Foremark), Piñon Midstream (sold to Enterprise), and Total Operations and Production Services (sold to Apollo Global Management).

Black Bay's revenue model is conventional private equity: it generates management fees on committed/invested capital across its funds, supplemented by transaction, monitoring, and board fees from portfolio companies, with carried interest earned on successful realizations. The firm employs 11-50 investment professionals with more than 130 collective years of energy and investing experience and is led by Managing Partner Michael LeBourgeois alongside Partners Tom Ambrose, Guy Cook, John Lancaster, and Matt Schovee. Go-to-market is relationship-driven direct investing; deal sourcing relies on sector specialization, the Strategic Advisory Board, and repeat industry relationships rather than broad-based outbound marketing.

Name

Black Bay Partners

Legal name

Black Bay Energy Partners

Website

https://blackbaypartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Black Bay Partners is a New Orleans-based lower middle-market private equity firm that invests control capital in North American energy, chemical, and industrial companies, managing over $850M across three institutional funds and a 15+ company operating portfolio.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Energy Private Equity Investment

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Financial Investment Activities (5239)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Multi-Sector / Generalist Growth Equity (FSANACAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

Keywords

• Energy private equity
• Growth capital investment
• Oilfield services investing
• Specialty chemicals investment
• Lower middle market

Headquarters

HQ city

New Orleans

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Private Equity Returns: Black Bay generates returns through successful portfolio company exits via strategic sales, mergers, or IPOs. They invest growth capital in exchange for equity ownership in innovative companies transforming the energy industry.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Black Bay Partners is a private equity firm that invests growth capital in lower middle-market companies within the energy industry and related chemical and industrial sectors. The firm primarily pursues control investments in companies with attractive EBITDA margins, strong cash flow, prudent leverage, and proven management teams, working closely with portfolio companies to identify opportunities and execute value creation plans. It raises capital from institutional investors through dedicated private equity funds (currently $850+ million raised across three funds).

Product overview

Black Bay Partners is a private equity firm, not a product company. It provides growth capital and strategic investment to portfolio companies in the energy, chemical, and industrial sectors. The firm's portfolio consists of distinct, independent companies rather than a unified product platform. These portfolio companies span various specialties including managed pressure drilling services (ADS Services), variable frequency drive systems (Advanced Industrial Devices), recycled fuel products (Allied Petrochemical), H2S treatment solutions (Altara), oilfield equipment (Capture Energy), water treatment chemistry (Clean Chemistry), AI-powered energy solutions (Enovate AI), natural gas storage infrastructure (Gulf Coast Midstream Partners), sulfur treating technologies (Merichem Technologies), sour gas and carbon capture services (Piñon Midstream), production measurement equipment (SCS Technologies), and AI inspection solutions (Scope).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Black Bay Energy Fund III
• Black Bay Energy Fund I
• Black Bay Energy Fund II
• Growth Capital Investment Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Strong and consistent investment returns for investors through collaborative partnerships

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Merichem CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 January 2024Black Bay Energy Capital (affiliate of Black Bay Partners) acquired Merichem Company's Process Technologies and Catalyst Products business units, forming a new entity called Merichem Technologies. The new platform focuses on sulfur treating technologies and solutions across various industries, including key management from the acquired business.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Trilantic Energy Partners: Trilantic Energy Partners is a Houston-based PE firm targeting growth and control investments in energy and energy services. Comparable in North American focus and lower middle-market energy services positioning.
• Pearl Energy Investments: Pearl Energy Investments is a Dallas-based PE firm partnering with management teams in lower middle-market upstream and midstream energy companies. Highly comparable to Black Bay's lower middle-market, energy-only, control-investment strategy.
• Arclight Capital Partners: Arclight Capital is a Boston-based PE firm focused on midstream energy and energy infrastructure investments. Comparable to Black Bay in sector specialization but typically invests at a larger scale and with more midstream/infrastructure focus.
• Tailwater Capital: Tailwater Capital is a Dallas-based PE firm focused on energy, infrastructure, and sustainability in the lower middle market. Overlapping strategy with Black Bay on energy value chain and growth-capital approach.
• SCF Partners: SCF Partners is a Houston-based energy-focused private equity firm making control investments in oilfield services and energy technology. It is one of the closest direct comparables to Black Bay given similar focus on lower middle-market energy services and chemicals.
• White Deer Energy: White Deer Energy is a Houston-based PE firm making control investments in midstream, oilfield services, and energy technology companies. Comparable in deal size, sector focus, and geographic concentration on North American energy.
• Phoenix Capital Partners: Phoenix Capital is a Houston-based PE firm investing in oilfield services, energy technology, and industrial companies across the lower middle market. Closely comparable to Black Bay in fund size, control-investment approach, and energy-services focus.
• Energy Spectrum Capital: Energy Spectrum Capital is a Dallas-based PE firm focused exclusively on the energy industry, including oilfield services, midstream, and energy technology. Comparable to Black Bay in fund size, geographic focus on North America, and sector specialization.
• CSL Capital Management: CSL Capital is a Houston-based PE firm focused on energy services, equipment, and midstream. Comparable to Black Bay in North American focus, control of operating companies, and energy-services specialization.

Broad incumbents

• KKR Energy & Infrastructure: KKR's energy and infrastructure platform invests across upstream, midstream, and energy services globally. A much larger incumbent in the same sector as Black Bay, providing an apples-to-oranges comparison of fund size and exit competition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks2 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Subsidiaries16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments7 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Black Bay Partners