Freestone Partners

Freestone Partners

Founded in 2001 by Mark Leyerle and Scott Clingan, Freestone Partners emerged from the partners' shared history in middle-market lending at a predecessor to JP Morgan Chase. Leyerle later worked in private equity at CCG Venture Partners and Crimson CCG Capital Management, while Clingan led corporate development at Encompass Services Corporation before a decade of independent investing. The Houston-based firm deliberately targets companies with revenues above $10 million and EBITDA between $2 million and $7 million, competing for deals that larger funds overlook. The firm makes control investments through acquisitions, recapitalizations, and growth capital in manufacturing, value-added distribution, industrial services, environmental services, business services, and transportation. Portfolio operations span the Southeastern and Southwestern United States. Confirmed portfolio holdings include Formwork Services and Supply, Warfab Industries, Cyclone Steel Services, Indian Mill Construction Supply, and Palmer Companies. Freestone Partners structures deals to keep operating control with the existing management while providing capital for expansion strategies. Freestone Partners operates with a lean team of three investment professionals: Partners Mark Leyerle and Scott Clingan, and Principal Michael Alley. Alley joined full-time in 2015 after interning at the firm in 2007 and 2014, earning his MBA from Emory University's Goizueta Business School. The firm was featured on TV's Inside the Blueprint, highlighting its lower middle-market focus. In recent activity, Freestone Partners completed the acquisition of the assets of Formwork Services and Supply, L.P. Freestone Partners' structure differs from typical lower middle-market funds by relying on permanent, non-institutional capital rather than a traditional fund lifecycle. The firm competes for deals with individual search-fund entrepreneurs and small family offices rather than institutional limited partners, creating a sourcing model built around direct outreach to owner-operators. Leyerle and Clingan share equal partnership authority with no external investment committee, enabling rapid decision-making on transactions under $50 million in enterprise value.