LightBay Capital
LightBay Capital is a Los Angeles-based private equity firm founded in 2017, applying a flexible capital approach to middle-market investments in healthcare, consumer, and business services sectors, targeting $100-300M+ equity per transaction with $1.66B+ raised across two funds.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersLos Angeles, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What LightBay Capital does
LightBay Capital is a Los Angeles-based private equity firm founded in 2017 by Nav Rahemtulla and Adam Stein, both former leaders of Ares Management's private equity industry groups (Healthcare and Consumer & Retail, respectively). The firm applies a flexible capital approach to middle-market investing across three core verticals: Healthcare Services (care delivery, behavioral health, physician services, post-acute, clinical staffing), Consumer Services (health & well-being, home & family, lifestyle & experiences), and Business Services (tech-enabled services, outsourced B2B, business process outsourcing). Target equity investments range from $100M-$300M+ per transaction, with flexibility to execute leveraged buyouts, shared-control opportunities, and special situations.
LightBay operates no technology products or software platforms; its core offering is investment management and growth equity capital deployment. The firm differentiates through a dedicated Growth Operations Team staffed by tenured industry executives who provide IT, data analytics, digital marketing, and strategy support to portfolio companies, alongside an active add-on acquisition program (140+ completed since inception across 11 portfolio companies).
The business model generates revenue through management fees and carried interest on its two private equity funds: Fund I ($615M committed, January 2018) and Fund II ($1.04B committed, May 2023), both oversubscribed relative to targets. LightBay co-invests alongside strategic partners including Freeman Spogli, Monogram Capital, Ares Management, and L Catterton, and distributes capital through direct partnerships with founders and management teams of US-based middle-market companies. UBS Investment Bank serves as placement agent and Kirkland & Ellis LLP as legal counsel across fund formations.
LightBay Capital firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- LightBay Capital
- Legal name
- LightBay Management LLC
- Website
- https://lightbay.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- LightBay Capital is a Los Angeles-based private equity firm founded in 2017, applying a flexible capital approach to middle-market investments in healthcare, consumer, and business services sectors, targeting $100-300M+ equity per transaction with $1.66B+ raised across two funds.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
LightBay Capital industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Private Equity / Growth Equity Investing
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Consumer & Retail Growth Equity (FSANACAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Technology & Software Growth Equity (FSANACAA)
Keywords
Where LightBay Capital is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Los Angeles
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
LightBay Capital business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Private Equity Fund Management: LightBay Capital generates returns through private equity fund management, collecting management fees and carried interest from Fund I ($615M raised in 2017) and Fund II ($1.04B raised in 2023). They invest in high-quality service-based middle-market companies to accelerate growth and create value.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
LightBay Capital product offering
Product offeringCore offering
LightBay Capital is a Los Angeles-based private equity firm that deploys $100-300m+ of equity per transaction into middle-market companies across healthcare, consumer, and business services sectors. The firm applies a flexible capital approach spanning leveraged buyouts, shared-control opportunities, and special situations, and supports portfolio companies with a dedicated Growth Operations Team providing operational, technology, digital marketing, and strategic resources.
Product overview
LightBay Capital is a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, not a product/technology company. The firm's core offering is investment management and growth equity capital deployment across healthcare, consumer, and business services sectors. The company does not offer technology products, SaaS platforms, or software services. As such, there are no discrete product modules, sub-products, or named offerings to catalog.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- The LightBay Foundation: Charitable foundation supported by a fixed portion of LightBay Capital's fees and carried interest, focused on education, healthcare, and poverty alleviation.
Products and services
- LightBay Investment Partners LP (Fund I)
- LightBay Investment Partners II LP (Fund II)
- Growth Operations Team
Quantifiable outcome
- 140+ add-on acquisitions completed across portfolio companies
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use LightBay Capital
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
LightBay Capital technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
LightBay Capital partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- The LightBay FoundationcoreA fixed portion of LightBay's fees and carried interest are contributed to The LightBay Foundation, focused on education, healthcare access, and poverty alleviation. Founded 2017 with $100K gift to DonorsChoose Keep Kids Learning program.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
LightBay Capital competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Wynnchurch Capital: Middle-market PE firm with overlapping healthcare, consumer, and business-services exposure. Comparable AUM scale and equity-check sizing make it a direct peer for deal competition and LP benchmarking.
- The Gores Group: LA-based middle-market PE firm. LightBay Partner David Leeney was previously Head of Global Origination at Gores, and both firms target similar equity-check sizes in services and consumer businesses.
- Avista Capital Partners: Healthcare and business-services-focused middle-market PE firm based in New York with comparable equity-check sizes. Both firms pursue outsourced services, healthcare delivery, and HCIT opportunities at the same scale.
- Cressey & Company: Healthcare-focused middle-market PE firm. LightBay Partner Ben Herman was a Principal at Cressey, and both firms invest in healthcare services, staffing, and outsourced services at the same equity-check size.
- Freeman Spogli & Co. LA-based middle-market PE firm focused on consumer and distribution with $5.7B+ invested across 70+ companies. Repeated co-investor with LightBay in FASTSIGNS, Infinity Home Services, and Awayday, operating in nearly identical consumer-services verticals.
- Trinity Hunt Capital Partners: Middle-market PE firm targeting healthcare services, consumer, and business services. Similar equity-check range, sector vertical mix, and Growth Operations-style value creation approach.
- Levine Leichtman Capital Partners: Los Angeles-based middle-market PE firm with a similar sector breadth across consumer, healthcare, and business services. LightBay Partner David Burcham previously served as Managing Director at LLCP, making it a direct human-capital peer.
- Monogram Capital Partners: Consumer-focused middle-market PE firm with $500M+ AUM. Co-invested with LightBay in Foundry brands platform with $100M equity capital — comparable in fund size and consumer vertical focus.
Broad incumbents
- Ares Management: Global alternative asset manager with $546B AUM. LightBay's two founding partners (Nav Rahemtulla and Adam Stein) were original members of Ares' private equity group before spinning out, and Ares co-invested with LightBay in Awayday — making it the closest corporate lineage peer.
- L Catterton: Largest global consumer-focused PE firm with $30B+ in equity capital. Co-invested with LightBay in Alliance Animal Health, operating in overlapping consumer-services and health/wellness verticals.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
LightBay Capital social profiles
Digital presenceLightBay Capital financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
LightBay Capital leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
LightBay Capital funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
LightBay Capital M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments13 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about LightBay Capital
What does LightBay Capital do?
LightBay Capital is a Los Angeles-based private equity firm that deploys $100-300m+ of equity per transaction into middle-market companies across healthcare, consumer, and business services sectors. The firm applies a flexible capital approach spanning leveraged buyouts, shared-control opportunities, and special situations, and supports portfolio companies with a dedicated Growth Operations Team providing operational, technology, digital marketing, and strategic resources.
Is LightBay Capital a public or private company?
LightBay Capital is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was LightBay Capital founded?
LightBay Capital was founded in 2017. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is LightBay Capital based?
LightBay Capital is headquartered in Los Angeles, United States, in the North America region.
How does LightBay Capital make money?
One revenue line is on record: private Equity Fund Management.
Who are LightBay Capital's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Wynnchurch Capital, The Gores Group, Avista Capital Partners, Cressey & Company, Freeman Spogli & Co., Trinity Hunt Capital Partners, Levine Leichtman Capital Partners and Monogram Capital Partners. Broad incumbents are Ares Management and L Catterton.
Does LightBay Capital have an API?
No public API is recorded for LightBay Capital.
What industry is LightBay Capital in?
LightBay Capital's product category is Private Equity / Growth Equity Investing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANACAC, Consumer & Retail Growth Equity, with a secondary code of FSANACAA, Technology & Software Growth Equity. Its NAICS code is 52394 and its SIC code is 6282.