Mason Wells

What Mason Wells does

Mason Wells is a Milwaukee-based private equity firm founded in 1998 by a group of professionals who previously made private investments through Marshall & Ilsley Corporation, a Wisconsin-based bank. The firm has raised $2.4 billion in aggregate across five independent buyout funds and currently invests through Mason Wells Buyout Fund V, a $767 million vehicle closed in 2021. Mason Wells partners with founders, families, and management teams of primarily Midwestern US-based businesses, making control-oriented buyouts in companies generating $25 million to $300 million in revenue with a minimum of $5 million EBITDA.

The firm concentrates its investing in four industry sectors: Consumer Packaged Goods, Engineered Products and Services, Outsourced Business Services, and Packaging Materials and Converting. Active platform investments over the firm's history include Nelipak Healthcare Packaging, Aquion, Buffalo Games, Accord Carton, Calvary Industries, and Strato Technology Solutions, among others. Deal sourcing combines proprietary field origination in Midwest business communities with intermediary relationships and a network of Executive Operating Partners who provide sector expertise, sourcing support, and board-level engagement. Each portfolio company board includes at least two Mason Wells partners.

Mason Wells generates revenue through management fees on committed and invested capital across its buyout funds and through carried interest tied to portfolio company realizations. The firm does not publicly disclose fee terms or management company financials. Its investment team of 21-plus professionals is anchored by six senior leaders who have worked together since the early 2000s, supporting a stable apprenticeship-driven talent model. The firm has been recognized by RCP Advisors as its 2025 Manager of the Year, reflecting consistent discipline and execution across fund vintages.

Name

Mason Wells

Legal name

Mason Wells, Inc.

Website

http://www.masonwells.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Mason Wells is a Milwaukee-based private equity firm that has raised $2.4 billion across five buyout funds to make control-oriented investments in Midwestern US-based, family-owned middle-market companies across four sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Equity Investment Management

NAICS

Other Financial Vehicles (52599)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Large-Cap / Mega-Fund Buyout (FSANABAA)

Keywords

• Private equity investments
• Middle market buyouts
• Buyout fund management
• Portfolio company management
• Family business acquisitions

Headquarters

HQ city

Milwaukee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Management Fees: Private equity firm generates revenue through management fees charged on committed capital across its five buyout funds.
2. Carried Interest: Performance-based carried interest from successful portfolio company exits, typically after returning capital to investors.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Mason Wells is a private equity firm that raises and manages institutional buyout funds to acquire control-oriented equity stakes in middle-market companies, primarily headquartered in the Midwestern United States with $25 million to $300 million in revenue. The firm partners with founders, families, and incumbent management teams of these companies, providing growth and succession capital, board-level governance, sector expertise, and access to a network of Executive Operating Partners to support value creation and eventual exit. Across five independent funds the firm has raised an aggregate of $2.4 billion, with the current Mason Wells Buyout Fund V closed at $767 million.

Product overview

Mason Wells is a Milwaukee-based private equity firm offering private equity investment management services through five buyout funds (Fund I through Fund V). The firm has raised $2.4 billion in aggregate across these funds, with Fund V being the current active $767 million fund. Mason Wells focuses on investing in founders, families, and managers of primarily Midwestern US-based businesses across four industry sectors: Consumer Packaged Goods, Engineered Products and Services, Outsourced Business Services, and Packaging Materials and Converting. The firm provides control-oriented buyout investments targeting companies with $25 million to $300 million in revenue and minimum $5 million EBITDA.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mason Wells Buyout Fund V A $767 million private equity fund making control-oriented buyout investments in middle market companies primarily located in the Midwestern United States, targeting companies with $25 million to $300 million in revenue and minimum $5 million EBITDA across four sector verticals. This is Mason Wells's current active fund.
• Mason Wells Leveraged Buyout Fund I The first buyout fund of Mason Wells, established in 1998 with seven platform businesses, all headquartered in the Midwest and family-owned prior to partnering with Mason Wells.
• Mason Wells Buyout Fund II Second buyout fund raised in 2005, architected with similar Midwestern, family-owned focus as Fund I, enjoying comparable financial results.
• Mason Wells Buyout Fund III Third buyout fund raised in 2010, continuing the Midwestern, family-owned investment focus with consistent strategy.
• Mason Wells Buyout Fund IV Fourth buyout fund raised in 2016, maintaining the Midwestern, family-owned focus with continued investment in consumer packaged goods, engineered products, outsourced business services, and packaging sectors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Average portfolio company employee growth demonstrated through investment track record

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Executive Operating Partners NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of experienced industry executives who support Mason Wells throughout the investment lifecycle. EOPs assist with investment thesis development, target company identification, facilitating introductions, attending industry events, new transaction evaluation, and serving as board members or consultants to portfolio companies.
• Buy-side IntermediariesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInvestment banking intermediaries and advisors who represent sellers in M&A transactions. Mason Wells pays finder's fees to these intermediaries consistent with applicable regulations. Four guiding principles govern these relationships: timely feedback, thoughtful communication, efficient processes, and commitment to confidentiality.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Wind Point Partners: Chicago-based middle-market private equity firm with comparable size, Midwest focus, and sector emphasis on consumer products, industrial services, and business services—closely aligned with Mason Wells' strategy and target geography.
• Sterling Group: Houston-based middle-market PE firm focused on industrial, distribution, and business services companies, with similar fund size and control-buyout orientation, making it a direct comparable for Mason Wells' engineered products and outsourced services focus.
• CIC Partners: Middle-market consumer and industrial-focused PE firm of comparable fund size with a similar focus on branded consumer products and food/beverage-adjacent businesses, directly overlapping with two of Mason Wells' four sectors.
• Kainos Capital: Dallas-based middle-market PE firm specializing in consumer products, food, and retail—comparable in fund size and sector emphasis on CPG, one of Mason Wells' four core verticals.
• RoundTable Healthcare Partners: Lake Forest, Illinois-based middle-market PE firm exclusively focused on healthcare, with similar fund size and a Midwest headquarters comparable to Mason Wells—relevant given Mason Wells' healthcare packaging and manufacturing exposure through Nelipak and MGS.
• Audax Group: Boston-based middle-market private equity firm with a comparable buyout fund size, sector breadth across industrials, business services, and consumer, and a similar strategy of building value through add-on acquisitions.
• Aterian Investment Partners: Middle-market PE firm focused on industrial, consumer, and business services companies with comparable check size and operationally intensive value creation approach—directly overlapping with Mason Wells' four focus sectors.
• Centre Partners: New York-based middle-market private equity firm with a similar fund size and focus on consumer, healthcare, and business services—sharing buyout orientation and family/founder-led deal sourcing with Mason Wells.

Broad incumbents

• KKR & Co. Global mega-fund private equity firm that increasingly competes in the middle market as it deploys dry powder, making it a broader incumbent that overlaps with Mason Wells in target company size and sectors.
• Bain Capital: Global multi-strategy alternative asset manager with large-cap and middle-market private equity operations overlapping Mason Wells' industrial, consumer, and business services focus areas.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mason-wells-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 records

Subsidiaries13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A13 records

Investments10 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Mason Wells