Argosy Private Equity News

Adapting, Advancing, and Achieving: Charting a Path for 2025¹

“Time flies when you’re having fun” – Albert Einstein

As 2024 unfolded, the M&A landscape remained challenging. However, signs of recovery are emerging, and our expectations for 2025 are optimistic.

After more than 25 years of focusing on the lower middle market, we at Argosy Private Equity know that challenges often present hidden opportunities. Despite the difficult market conditions in 2024, we remained committed to staying agile in navigating headwinds to identify new growth opportunities.

Throughout the year, we continued to deploy capital in both new platform investments and add-on transactions. While 2024 brought its hurdles, we are proud of our team’s efforts, which resulted in closing five new platform investments and one add-on acquisition. In a challenging exit environment, Argosy managed to exit five platform investments. Additionally, we remained focused on aiming to create value within our portfolio through the implementation of our VAM™ playbook (Argosy’s Value Acceleration Methodology), collaborating closely with management teams to execute their strategic and value-creation plans.

For over 25 years, we have focused on building authentic relationships and fostering a collaborative, learning-driven environment that sparks innovation and creativity. This core value is supported by key fundamentals such as teamwork, embracing change and growth, and developing organizational talent. In 2024, one of our most impactful achievements was our continued investment in talent, adding four new members to our investment and operating teams. We believe our team is stronger than ever and are excited about the opportunities we can achieve together!

Thanks to our dedicated team, the management teams we collaborate with, and you, our valued business partners, we were thrilled to see our hard work pay off with the achievement of six industry awards.

As we reflect on 2024, we want to extend our sincere gratitude for the support and trust we have received from all those we worked with. With 2025 upon us, we eagerly anticipate continuing our partnerships and embracing the exciting opportunities the year ahead will bring!

5 Platform Acquisitions

Add-On Acquisitions

5 Exits

2024 VAM Initiatives

At Argosy, our partnerships with portfolio companies go beyond investment — we focus on driving growth and optimizing operations. Using our proven VAM™ business system, we provide a structured framework that strives for sustainable success. VAM™ is more than a slogan; it is a philosophy, backed by resources and key pillars like Strategic Planning, Voice of the Customer, and Strategy Deployment. We continually refine VAM™ and introduce new tools to help our partners navigate market challenges.

The VAM™ program has been successful for many of our portfolio companies for over the last decade – always hungry to create value and harness growth – but demand from portfolio companies has historically exceeded internal capacity. Recognizing the additional potential, our value creation initiative was expanded in 2024 by deploying VAM™ on the ground. This strategy involved attracting talented engineers from top companies like Boeing, Danaher, and Johnson & Johnson, known for their commitment to continuous improvement, which aligns with VAM™.

As we look back on a successful 2024, we are grateful for the remarkable achievements of our management teams and their companies. With the VAM™ methodology as a cornerstone, we are excited to continue to help drive growth and success in the years ahead.

For a quick overview of what VAM™ entails, check out Argosy’s VAM™ Video here:

New Additions to the Team

We welcomed 4 new team members, including two additions to the Investment Team and two additions to the Operating Partner Team.

Market Recognition¹

We are incredibly honored to be selected for the GCI Publishing’s 2024 Top 50 PE Leaders in the Middle Market, Inc.’s 2024 Founder-Friendly Investors List, both for the third year in a row and 2024 SBIC of the Year, marking the second time Argosy has received this honor as an Established Manager.

Vac2Go, Burco, and Heavy Equipment Colleges of America were honored as ‘Deal of the Year’ winners or finalists by leading industry publications, including ACG Kentucky, Crain’s Grand Rapids, and the M&A Advisor:

Argosy Insights

Our experts and partners shared their insights on emerging trends and industry best practices.

Read the latest article on Mastering Process Flow Mapping: Unlock Opportunities and Supercharge Your Production.

“Process flow mapping is a powerful tool that can transform your production processes by providing clarity and standardization.”

Look out for Argosy at these upcoming conferences:

Thank you to everyone who contributed to our success in 2024. We’re excited to continue partnering with you in 2025 and beyond!

¹ All statistics as of 12/31/24. Past performance is not indicative of future results, which may vary.

² These awards are the opinion of the party conferring the award and not of Argosy. Argosy submitted a nomination, and once selected, paid a publishing and copyright fee to promote these awards. There can be no assurance that other providers or surveys would reach the same conclusion as the foregoing.