CIVC Partners

What CIVC Partners does

CIVC Partners is a Chicago-based private equity firm founded in 1970 that specializes exclusively in middle-market business services companies in the United States and Canada. The firm was established as an independent, partner-owned limited partnership (CIVC Partners, L.P., Delaware) in 1998 when its partners spun out of Bank of America's private equity division. CIVC makes initial equity investments of $20-100 million in companies with $5-30 million of EBITDA, partnering with founders and management teams to accelerate growth through a combination of organic expansion and add-on acquisitions. The firm currently invests from Fund VII, which closed at $870 million in November 2023, and has deployed approximately $3.0 billion across 89 platform investments and 200+ total acquisitions since 1989.

CIVC generates revenue through three streams typical of private equity managers: recurring management fees on committed or invested capital across its fund vehicles, performance-based carried interest (typically 20% of profits) earned on successful portfolio company exits, and transaction fees on acquisitions and dispositions within the portfolio. Capital is sourced from institutional limited partners including pension funds, endowments, and family offices that commit to CIVC's fund vehicles under limited partnership agreements. Deal origination is conducted through a dedicated business development team led by Nick Canderan (Principal, Head of Business Development) and Lauren Savino (Vice President, Business Development), which cultivates relationships with M&A intermediaries, founders, and management teams in fragmented business services markets.

The firm's current portfolio spans 20+ operating companies across 11+ business services verticals, including IT services (Datavail, Highstreet, iVision), insurance brokerage (Crest Insurance, Signers National, StoneRidge), infrastructure consulting (HR Green), transportation and logistics (OTR Transportation), wealth management (Cary Street Partners), AI-enabled security (Elite Interactive Solutions), Connected TV advertising (Strategus), compliance (KPA), market research (InnovateMR), refrigeration services (American Refrigeration USA), and litigation support (Nationwide Legal, Magna Legal Services). The firm is led by a partner team with an average tenure of 20 years, including Chris Geneser (Partner & CFO), John Compall, Marc McManus, Doug Potters, Scott Schwartz, Sloan Wilson, and J.D. Wright.

Name

CIVC Partners

Legal name

CIVC Partners, L.P.

Website

http://www.civc.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CIVC Partners is a Chicago-based private equity firm founded in 1970 that invests exclusively in middle-market business services companies in the US and Canada, deploying $20-100 million per transaction into companies with $5-30 million EBITDA. The firm currently invests from Fund VII ($870 million, closed November 2023) and manages a portfolio of 20+ operating companies across insurance, IT services, infrastructure, wealth management, transportation, and other business services verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Equity Fund Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Institutional Consultants & Fiduciary Management (Investment Consulting) (FSAAAGAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Strategic Partnerships, Alliances & JVs Advisory (BPAHADAI)

Keywords

• Private equity investing
• Middle-market buyouts
• Business services investing
• Growth equity capital
• Fund management

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

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 management fees charged on committed or invested capital to cover fund operations and deal sourcing activities.
2. Carried Interest: Performance-based carried interest (typically 20% of profits) earned when portfolio companies are exited at gains, aligning investor and manager interests.
3. Transaction Fees: Fees potentially earned on acquisition and disposition transactions executed for portfolio companies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CIVC Partners is a Chicago-based private equity firm that invests $20–$100 million in middle-market business services companies with $5–$30 million EBITDA across the US and Canada, partnering with founders and management teams to drive organic and acquisition-based growth. The firm currently invests from Fund VII (closed at $870 million in November 2023) and manages a diversified portfolio of 20+ business services companies spanning IT services, transportation, insurance, digital marketing, infrastructure, and wealth management. Since 1989, CIVC has invested approximately $3.0 billion across 89 platform companies and 200+ acquisitions.

Product overview

CIVC Partners is a Chicago-based private equity firm established in 1970 that invests in high-growth middle market companies in the business services sector. Rather than offering a unified product platform, CIVC operates as a private equity investment manager with 7 funds, having invested approximately $3.0 billion in 89 platforms since 1989. The firm's portfolio companies offer distinct products and services across multiple sectors: Datavail provides AI and data engineering managed services; 829 Studios offers digital marketing with its proprietary Apollo platform; Strategus delivers Connected TV marketing managed services; KeyData Cyber specializes in AI-powered identity security; Highstreet provides Oracle implementation services; Elite Interactive Solutions offers AI-enabled remote video guarding; Novara delivers safety and operational risk management through its Flex platform; and Nationwide Legal provides litigation support services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CIVC Partners Investment Management Private equity investment management services partnering with founders and management teams to accelerate growth in middle-market business services companies. Targeted to business services companies across the US and Canada.

Quantifiable outcome

• 7 funds completed since 1970
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability12 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Nationwide LegalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026CIVC Partners made a strategic investment in Nationwide Legal, a provider of litigation support services including service of process, court filing, subpoena services, and court reporting. Founded in 2007, Nationwide has built a reputation as one of the fastest-growing businesses in its sector over 19 years.
• Elite Interactive SolutionscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 June 2025CIVC Partners made a strategic investment in Elite Interactive Solutions, the industry pioneer in remote video guarding and real-time crime prevention. The investment enables Elite to scale its vision and expand its next-generation security platform across retail, multifamily, automotive, industrial, and campus markets.
• Cary Street PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 April 2025CIVC Partners made a strategic investment in Cary Street Partners, a $10 billion AUM wealth management firm, to support organic expansion and strategic acquisitions. The partnership enhances Cary Street's access to institutional capital while CIVC gains exposure to the RIA/wealth management sector.
• Strategus LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 January 2025CIVC Partners announced majority investment in Strategus, a Connected TV (CTV) marketing managed services provider. The funding enables Strategus to develop new data types, enhance its attribution suite, and improve cross-system measurement methods in the fragmented TV landscape.
• HR GreencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 January 2024CIVC Partners invested in HR Green, a civil engineering and infrastructure services provider. The investment supports HR Green's projects across transportation, water, municipal advisory, broadband, and land development end markets in the US.
• Datavail Corp.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 January 2024CIVC Partners acquired Datavail from Catalyst Investors. Datavail is a provider of data managed services including database management, analytics, and application support serving mid-market, enterprise, and SMB clients. The acquisition aims to support Datavail's growth through technological enhancements and expanded sales efforts.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• AEA Investors: AEA Investors is a New York-based middle-market private equity firm with a long-tenured, partner-owned structure similar to CIVC. Both firms focus on business services and industrial verticals, take control or significant minority positions, and operate through add-on acquisition strategies. AEA's Elevate strategy even acquired CIVC's 829 Studios portfolio company in 2026.
• American Industrial Partners: American Industrial Partners (AIP) is a middle-market PE firm focused on industrial and business services companies, often partnering with management teams. AIP shares CIVC's deal size range, control-investment style, and add-on roll-up playbook; Scott Schwartz previously worked at AIP before joining CIVC.
• Audax Group: Audax is a Boston-based middle-market PE firm explicitly built around a "buy-and-build" add-on acquisition model in business services and industrials. Audax Private Debt has also financed multiple CIVC portfolio company acquisitions, evidencing deep commercial overlap.
• H.I.G. Capital: H.I.G. Capital is a global alternative investment firm focused on middle-market equity and debt, with a business services focus and similar $20-150M equity check range. Several CIVC alumni (e.g., Brian James worked at H.I.G.) and overlapping deal flow make it a close comparable.
• Sterling Investment Partners: Sterling is a lower-middle-market PE firm focused exclusively on business services and consumer services companies. Their fund size, sector specialization, and partnership-style investment approach closely mirror CIVC's positioning.
• Brockway Moran & Associates: Brockway Moran is a middle-market PE firm focused on business services and consumer companies with EBITDA in the $5-30M range — directly comparable to CIVC's investment criteria — and a long-tenured partner team.

Emerging players

• RoundTable Healthcare Partners: RoundTable is a middle-market PE firm exclusively focused on healthcare. While sector-specialized differently, its operating model (partner-owned, add-on acquisitions in fragmented verticals) is structurally similar to CIVC; Alex Lieberman worked at RoundTable before joining CIVC.
• Frontier Growth: Frontier Growth is a lower-middle-market PE firm focused on business services and tech-enabled services companies. While smaller in fund size, it competes in similar end markets and share-of-wallet with founders considering CIVC.

Broad incumbents

• CVC Capital Partners: CVC is a global private equity giant with exposure to business services through multiple funds. While much larger and broader, CVC competes with CIVC for the same upper-middle-market business services platforms and shares a name with CIVC — they are sometimes confused in sourcing.
• Avista Capital Partners: Avista is a middle-market PE firm focused on healthcare and business services, with fund sizes larger than CIVC's. It represents the next tier of competition for CIVC's larger platform deals as those companies scale past $30M EBITDA.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/civc-partners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries25 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors2 records

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

M&A10 records

Investments38 records

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

Frequently asked questions about CIVC Partners