Dallas, Texas — October 12, 2021
CIC Partners, a growth-focused private equity firm, has been recognized on Inc.’s Founder-Friendly Investors list. The list honors the private equity and venture capital firms with the best track record of success backing entrepreneurs. The final list recognizes 146 firms that entrepreneurs can trust and collaborate with while receiving the financial support they need to help accelerate growth.
CIC’s capital strategy is rooted in a strong belief that sustained success in investing is predicated upon alignment of interest among investors, founders, and management teams – shared risks and rewards. CIC’s funds are comprised of capital from its investment team and from its Operating Partners, a network of executives and company founders (many former CIC management teams), who bring industry and leadership expertise to its companies.
“Our investment thesis is to partner with talented founders whose companies present compelling growth opportunities by crafting unique and flexible structures, as minority or majority investors, to address their objectives. We encourage founders to retain as much ownership as they choose so they can share in the upside they help create going forward,” said Fouad Bashour, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at CIC Partners.
Fouad added, “We manage our investments with a focus on long-term capital appreciation and principal protection in the same manner an individual founder would want to manage their personal investment. We have an owner-operator mindset, not that of a traditional third-party money manager, making us a natural fit for founder-led businesses.”
For over 25 years, CIC has been partnering with founders in the lower middle market, where its capital and expertise can best provide strategic and operational value. Since its inception, the team has invested in 37 founder-led companies representing over $4 billion in revenues. CIC is currently investing CIC IV with plans to launch a fifth fund in 2022. With an average ~40% founder ownership across its last 15 investments, CIC has shown that this approach is highly attractive to founders.
Learn more about how CIC Partners works with founders by visiting: https://cicpartners.com/our-approach.php
To compile the list, Inc. went straight to the entrepreneurs who have raised capital from the private equity firms being considered for the award. Founders filled out a questionnaire about their experiences working with various firms and shared data on how they have grown during these partnerships. To view the complete list, go to: https://www.inc.com/founder-friendly-investors/2021
ABOUT CIC PARTNERS
CIC Partners is a middle-market private equity firm that invests in growth-oriented companies primarily in the food, restaurant, industrial, and energy industries. CIC manages the personal capital of its investment team, operating partners, and strategic investors and seeks to partner with owner-operators, founders, and management teams. CIC looks for opportunities where it can leverage the collective experience of its investment team and its operating partners, who are successful CEOs and entrepreneurs, to guide, support, and add value to portfolio companies. Based in Dallas, Texas, the firm has been generating wealth in private equity investing for its investors and management teams for over 30 years. For additional information, please visit www.cicpartners.com.
ABOUT INC.
The world’s most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community they need to build great companies. Inc. introduced the Founder-Friendly Private Equity Firms list in 2019 and it quickly established itself as one of Inc.’s most resourceful franchises. It has become a go-to guide for entrepreneurs who want to grow their companies while retaining an ownership stake. For more information, visit www.inc.com.