Clearspring Capital Partners

What Clearspring Capital Partners does

Clearspring Capital Partners is a Canadian mid-market private equity firm founded in 2002 and headquartered in Toronto, with a regional office in Montreal. The firm invests in Canadian companies generating at least $5 million in EBITDA, executing control and lead-minority buyouts, growth financings, acquisition financings, going-private transactions, industry consolidations, restructurings, recapitalizations, and strategic investments across sectors including manufacturing, emergency equipment, food and beverage, education, defence, business services, consumer goods, and healthcare. Notable investments include Demers Ambulances, CBI Health Group, Logistik Unicorp, Regal Confections, Telecon, Tecnic, Traditours, and INNOTEX, with cumulative capital deployed of approximately $600 million across 19 companies.

The firm's core differentiator is its ClearPower5 proprietary investment and value-creation framework, which evaluates and supports portfolio companies across five attributes: Market Leadership, Focus, Ownership Alignment, Competitive Moat, and Customer Loyalty. This is paired with a data-driven approach that collects first-hand input from customers, competitors, suppliers, and industry experts to shape strategy. The senior team blends CEO, COO, and CFO operating experience with Bain & Company consulting backgrounds, enabling active board-level and strategic engagement with portfolio management — including monthly minimum engagement and weekly CEO interaction on many investments.

Clearspring generates revenue through traditional private equity mechanics: management fees on committed/invested capital across Fund I, Fund II, Fund III, and single-asset vehicles, supplemented by carried interest on realized returns. The firm has reported a 3.0x gross multiple of invested capital and 29% gross returns on fully realized investments, with portfolio companies achieving an average of 20% annual EBITDA growth during the investment period. Deal sourcing is proprietary and relationship-driven rather than auction-based, relying on long-standing referral networks with investment banks, accounting firms, and past portfolio partners to secure exclusive investments.

Name

Clearspring Capital Partners

Legal name

Clearspring Capital Partners

Website

https://cscap.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Equity Investment Management

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

akta.pro primary industry

Large-Cap / Mega-Fund Buyout (FSANABAA)

Keywords

• Private equity
• Mid-market investments
• Growth capital
• Buyout financing
• Portfolio management

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Private Equity Investment Management: Clearspring Capital Partners generates returns by acquiring ownership stakes in Canadian mid-market companies, operating them with active partnership, and exiting at higher valuations. Revenue derives from management fees on committed capital and carried interest (performance fees) on investment returns above hurdle rates. The firm has realized a 3.0X gross multiple of invested capital and 29% gross returns on fully realized investments.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Clearspring Capital Partners is a Canadian private equity firm founded in 2002 that invests in mid-market companies with at least $5 million in EBITDA across manufacturing, emergency equipment, food & beverage, education, defence, business services, consumer goods, and healthcare. The firm acquires controlling and lead minority equity stakes through dedicated investment funds (Fund I, II, III, and single-asset vehicles), partners with founders and management teams, and provides active board-level strategic and operational support, executing exits through recapitalizations, sales, or going-private transactions.

Product overview

Clearspring Capital Partners is a private equity firm offering a suite of investment funds (Fund I, Fund II, Fund III, and Single-Asset Funds) that provide growth capital, acquisition financing, and operational support to Canadian mid-market companies. The firm deploys its proprietary ClearPower5TM investment methodology—a framework built on Market Leadership, Focus, Ownership Alignment, Competitive Moat, and Customer Loyalty—to help portfolio companies achieve sustainable growth and market leadership positions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ClearPower5: A proprietary investment model used to identify, build, and maintain market leaders, focusing on five key attributes: Market Leadership, Focus, Ownership Alignment, Competitive Moat, and Customer Loyalty.

Products and services

• Fund I Clearspring's first private equity fund providing growth capital, acquisition financing, and operational support to Canadian mid-market companies.
• Fund II Clearspring's second private equity fund providing growth capital, acquisition financing, and operational support to Canadian mid-market companies.
• Fund III Clearspring's third private equity fund providing growth capital, acquisition financing, and operational support to Canadian mid-market companies.
• Single-Asset Fund Clearspring's single-asset fund structure used to deploy dedicated capital into specific portfolio company investments in the Canadian mid-market.

Quantifiable outcome

• 29% gross returns on fully realized investments
• +5 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Stone Point Capital: Larger US-based private equity firm focused on financial services and other industries — overlaps with Clearspring on mid-market control investments and operating-partner engagement, though with a substantially larger fund platform.
• Wynnchurch Capital: Established US-based middle-market private equity firm with operationally focused control investments — comparable in mid-market buyout playbook and operational engagement model, though broader geographically.
• Onex Corporation: Toronto-headquartered large-cap private equity firm — overlaps with Clearspring on Canadian mid-market control investments via ONCAP, while operating across a much broader fund platform and transaction-size range.

Direct peers

• Novacap: Quebec-headquartered Canadian mid-market PE firm investing across business services, manufacturing, and consumer — comparable to Clearspring in scale, regional focus, and dedication to the Canadian mid-market.
• Catalyst Capital Group: Toronto-based Canadian private equity firm with sector-focused control investments — comparable in Canadian mid-market buyout mandate and relationship-driven deal sourcing.
• ONCAP (Onex Partners): Mid-market private equity platform of Onex focused on North American companies — closely comparable in control-buyout strategy, sector breadth (industrials, consumer, services), and target company size to Clearspring.
• Imperial Capital Group: Canadian mid-market private equity firm based in Toronto focused on management buyouts and growth capital — comparable in Canadian geography, mid-market EBITDA thresholds, and relationship-led deal flow.
• Birch Hill Equity Partners: Toronto-based Canadian mid-market private equity firm focused on control and minority investments in Canadian companies — directly comparable in geography, fund size, and mid-market buyout strategy to Clearspring.
• Northleaf Capital Partners: Toronto-headquartered alternative asset manager with mid-market private equity and private credit strategies — directly comparable as a Canadian mid-market PE/credit competitor for both deals and LP capital.
• CAI Capital Management: Montreal-based Canadian private equity firm investing in mid-market companies — closely comparable in geography (Quebec/Western Canada), control-buyout approach, and target EBITDA profile.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/clearspring-capital-partners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A6 records

Investments11 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Clearspring Capital Partners