Dos Rios Partners

What Dos Rios Partners does

Dos Rios Partners, L.P. is a Texas-based private equity partnership founded in 2012 that invests in small, proven, entrepreneur or family-owned businesses with approximately $3-$12 million in EBITDA located across the Six-State Region of Texas, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. The firm writes $5-$15 million equity, debt, or hybrid checks (with the option to syndicate additional LP capital) into "nichey" and ideally niche-dominating companies, providing not just capital but also C-level advisory, management-team gap-filling, systems/processes implementation, acquisition support, and exit positioning. It holds a Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) license from the SBA, layering government-backed long-duration capital on top of private investor commitments to offer more flexible structures than typical lower-middle-market competitors.

The firm operates from offices in Austin/San Antonio (headquarters) and Dallas/Fort Worth, supported by a seven-person team of four partners and three associates whose collective 117 years of experience spans Goldman Sachs, First Boston, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, Simmons & Company International, Raymond James, and prior SBIC and lower-middle-market buyout work. The first fund closed at a $225 million hard cap in 2013, overshooting an initial $150 million target, and has been deployed across roughly a dozen disclosed investments covering sign manufacturing (Chandler Signs), software/training (DiSTI), food safety (FlexXray), food service (Glazing Saddles), consumer products (Greenology), healthcare RCM (Gryphon), video equipment (ikan), fiberglass manufacturing (L.F. Manufacturing), aviation services (Pathfinder), party rentals (Pro EM), natural stone (Salado), healthcare research (STATinMed), emergency care (Texas Emergency Care), oilfield wellhead (Universal Wellhead), electronics manufacturing (VirTex), directional boring (West Texas Boring), and footwear retail (WSS). Reported realizations include an 8x return on Ashbrook Simon-Hartley, 15x on Controlled Recovery, a 32.3% IRR/2.25x on Future Food, 50%+ sales/EBITDA growth at Parker School Uniforms, and a 2021 exit of WSS to Foot Locker.

Revenue is generated through a standard PE two-stream model: recurring management fees on committed/invested capital and performance-based carried interest from successful exits. The firm does not publicly disclose financial results, runs with no proprietary technology platform, and sources deals almost entirely through relationship-driven channels — value-added intermediaries (brokers, boutique banks, fundless sponsors, search funds), direct outreach to owners and managers, co-investment partnerships with other PE funds, and involvement in regional industry organizations.

Name

Dos Rios Partners

Legal name

Dos Rios Partners

Website

https://dosriospartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Dos Rios Partners is a Texas-based private equity partnership that invests $5-15 million in entrepreneur or family-owned businesses with $3-12 million in EBITDA across Texas, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, operating a $225 million SBIC-backed fund with offices in Austin and Dallas/Fort Worth.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Equity Investing

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

SBIC Venture Debt Funds (FSANAIAD)

Keywords

• Private equity investing
• SBIC fund management
• Lower middle market
• Growth capital
• Small business acquisitions

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Management Fees: Private equity fund management fees typically charged on committed capital during the investment period
2. Carried Interest: Performance-based carried interest from successful portfolio company exits and investments

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Dos Rios Partners is a Texas-based private equity partnership that provides patient, flexible capital solutions (equity, debt, or combinations; control or non-control) to small, proven, entrepreneur or family-owned companies with approximately $3-12 million in EBITDA. The firm invests $5-15 million per transaction in businesses located in the Six-State Region (Texas, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma), combining SBIC capital with private investor capital to offer long-term, low-cost funding alongside C-level advisory and operational support.

Product overview

Dos Rios Partners is a private equity firm that operates as a single unified investment platform. The firm provides capital solutions (equity, debt, or combinations) to proven, growing companies with $3-12 million in EBITDA, typically investing $5-15 million per transaction. The portfolio includes 17 portfolio companies across diverse industries including sign manufacturing (Chandler Signs), virtual training software (DiSTI), food safety inspection (FlexXray), healthcare revenue cycle management (Gryphon Healthcare), video production equipment (ikan International), fiberglass manufacturing (L.F. Manufacturing), aviation services (Pathfinder Aviation), party rentals (Pro EM), natural stone quarrying (Salado), healthcare research (STATinMed), emergency care (Texas Emergency Care Center), wellhead equipment (Universal Wellhead Services), electronics manufacturing (VirTex), directional drilling (West Texas Boring), and specialty retail (WSS).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Private Equity Investment Services Private equity investment services targeting proven, growing companies with approximately $3-12 million in EBITDA. Dos Rios invests $5-15 million per transaction in small, private, entrepreneur or family-owned businesses in Texas, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, providing equity, debt, or hybrid capital along with C-level advisory, systems/processes support, and acquisition guidance.

Quantifiable outcome

• 8x return on investment in Ashbrook Simon-Hartley
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered major and minor.

• Business Brokers and Boutique Investment BanksmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorValue-added deal sources including business brokers and boutique investment banks who identify and refer investment opportunities. The firm rewards these intermediaries for their help in sourcing deals.
• Fundless SponsorsmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFundless sponsors who bring deal opportunities to Dos Rios for co-investment. These partners benefit from Dos Rios' capital and expertise.
• Other Private Equity FundsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOpen to partnering with other private equity funds for co-investments and deal sourcing, including companies with orphan subsidiaries that may be divested.
• Search FundsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOpen to partnering with search funds seeking capital for acquisitions in the Six-State Region.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Main Street Capital: Houston-based publicly traded BDC providing debt and equity capital to lower middle market companies. Overlaps with Dos Rios in target geography (Texas), customer profile ($3-12M EBITDA businesses), and SBIC-style capital deployment, though at much larger scale.
• Blue Sage Capital: Austin-based lower middle market PE firm founded by Bo Baskin (who later co-founded Dos Rios). Targets small, proven, entrepreneur/family-owned businesses in Texas and the Southwest with similar $3-15M EBITDA and $5-15M check size - essentially Dos Rios's closest historical peer.
• St. Cloud Capital: Los Angeles-based SBIC-licensed PE firm (with Dallas presence) providing capital to lower middle market companies. Directly comparable to Dos Rios on SBIC structure, target company profile ($3-12M EBITDA), and growth/liquidity capital focus.
• Shoreline Equity Partners: Texas-based lower middle market PE firm investing in niche-leading manufacturing, distribution, and services businesses. Highly comparable on target geography, customer profile, niche-dominant thesis, and check size range.
• LKCM Headwater Investments: Dallas-based PE firm providing capital to lower middle market companies primarily in Texas and the Southwest. Comparable on geographic focus, deal size, and entrepreneur/family-owned business targeting.
• Mercato Partners: Salt Lake City-based PE firm focused on growth-stage companies in the Mountain West and Southwest US. Overlaps with Dos Rios on geography and target customer profile, though typically larger checks and earlier-stage growth focus.
• CIC Partners: Dallas-based middle market PE firm investing in lower middle market companies in the Southwest US. Comparable to Dos Rios in geography, deal size range, and focus on family/entrepreneur-owned businesses, though typically somewhat larger checks.
• Trinity Hunt Partners: Dallas-based lower middle market PE firm focused on founder-led businesses in the South-Central US. Comparable in check size, target EBITDA profile, and emphasis on operational partnership with management teams.

Broad incumbents

• Capitala Group: Fort Worth-based private investment firm with SBIC license providing debt and equity to lower middle market companies. Broader product offering than Dos Rios but overlapping geography, customer profile, and capital structure.

Emerging players

• Periscope Equity: Minneapolis-based lower middle market PE firm investing in founder-led businesses. Comparable in check size and target EBITDA profile, though serving a different geographic footprint than Dos Rios's Six-State Region focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A3 records

Investments5 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Dos Rios Partners