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Main Line Equity Partners
Main Line Equity Partners, a Philadelphia private equity firm, makes strategic equity and debt investments in companies ready for the next stage of growth.
Main Line Equity Partners
Main Line Equity Partners, a Philadelphia private equity firm, makes strategic equity and debt investments in companies ready for the next stage of growth.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
2005
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Ardmore
Corporate office
Ardmore, PA, United States
Principals
David Fisher
Managing Partner
Brian J. Kivitz
Managing Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who makes investment decisions at Main Line Equity Partners?
Managing Partners David Fisher and Brian Kivitz jointly lead the investment committee. Both have operating and investing backgrounds and are supported by a bench of executive partners who diligence opportunities and assume board or interim management roles post-close. All final investment decisions rest with Fisher and Kivitz.
Does Main Line Equity Partners raise outside institutional capital?
No. MLEP invests committed internal capital rather than blind-pool fund vehicles. This structure avoids fundraising cycles, enables indefinite hold periods, and allows the firm to structure transactions that may not fit an institutional fund's fee-and-waterfall model.
What size companies does Main Line Equity Partners target?
The firm focuses on lower-middle-market businesses generating between $2 million and $15 million in EBITDA. It acquires majority control — typically 100% — in profitable, founder- or family-owned enterprises across business services, niche manufacturing, healthcare services, and light industrial sectors.
How does the firm source deals?
MLEP relies on a direct-origination network of intermediaries, accountants, attorneys, and executives in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast instead of broad auction processes. Its geographic proximity model — targeting companies within roughly two hours of Ardmore, Pennsylvania — is designed to catch deals that larger national sponsors overlook.
What is Main Line Equity Partners' typical hold period?
Because the firm does not manage a fixed-life fund, it has no formal exit clock. The investing partners have indicated a willingness to hold portfolio companies for a decade or longer if the business continues to compound, avoiding the forced liquidity events that marked-to-market fund structures require.
Does MLEP pursue add-on acquisitions?
Yes. The firm's buy-and-build strategy includes pursuing tuck-in acquisitions that strengthen a platform's market position, geographic reach, or service offering. Add-on diligence and integration are executed by the same operating-partner team that manages the original platform.
How is Main Line Equity Partners governed?
Fisher and Kivitz serve as Managing Partners and constitute the investment committee. The firm operates without a traditional LP advisory board or external board-seat mandates. Operating partners and a small internal team support sourcing, execution, and portfolio monitoring from the Ardmore office.
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