SAN FRANCISCO, CA – L Capital LLC is pleased to announce its second equity investment by its inaugural fund, L Capital I LP. The minority investment in Gladson Holdings was made in partnership with the The Wicks Group, a private investment firm based in New York City that invests in middle-market companies operating in selected segments of the information and education industries principally in the United States and Canada. Since its founding in 1989, Wicks has invested over $1 billion of capital in more than 35 platform companies and approximately 100 add-on acquisitions.
Gladson Holdings was founded in 1971 and is a leading provider of digital content and related services to the consumer-packaged goods (“CPG”), fast-moving consumer goods (“FMCG”) and retail/grocery industries. Gladson delivers product data to support omnichannel initiatives that improve shopper engagement and that maximize efficiency within retail, online and logistics operations. The Company owns the largest proprietary product content library in the industry, containing more than 1 million individual products and 8 million product images. Its blue-chip client base includes some of the biggest household names in retail.
LR Group was engaged by Wicks (Gladson’s sponsor) to assist with two pre-deal diligence and talent activities that resulted in expert diligence introductions and the hiring of Paul Salay as CEO of the company. L Capital completed a minority investment in Gladson in June 2017.
About L Capital
L Capital is a specialty private equity firm that advises and invests alongside leading buyout and growth equity firms. Our strategy leverages longstanding private equity sponsor relationships and a global executive network to unlock and transform PE deal opportunities across the Technology, Business Services, Industrial and Consumer sectors. The result: strategic insights for PE investors, high-impact leadership for their portfolio companies and access to differentiated returns for L Capital’s limited partners.
Founded in 2015, L Capital is a part of a unique three-part platform serving the private equity industry. Our affiliated executive search and advisory services provide access to a network of 250,000+ senior executives which we leverage to provide value across the PE investment lifecycle including deal origination, diligence support, executive search, and team buildouts. This executive network is a key differentiator and offers a unique lens into companies through the executives who lead them. For more information, visit: www.lcapitalmgmt.com.
About Gladson Holdings
Founded in 1971, Gladson is the leading provider of product images, product content and related services for the US consumer packaged goods industry. The firm’s database is widely acknowledged as the most complete, accurate and up-to-date database available, supporting shelf space management, category management, logistics, advertising, research and e-commerce applications such as online shopping and nutrition programs for consumers.