Oxer Capital

All investment decisions are made by a formal Investment Committee composed of Founding Partners Frank Capella and Daniel Phlegar, plus Partner Michael O'Brien. Capella focuses on origination and structuring, Phlegar on fund operations and structuring, and O'Brien on due diligence, research, and portfolio management. No single partner can approve a deal unilaterally; the firm's structure requires committee consensus.

Oxer sources deal flow almost entirely through financial intermediaries — private equity firms, independent sponsors, family offices, and management teams bringing transaction opportunities. The firm does not maintain a direct origination arm targeting operating companies. This model leverages the combined 110+ years of team experience in lower middle market mezzanine investing, much of it built at Huntington Capital Investment Company, where several senior team members previously worked.

Oxer is a junior-capital provider that blurs the line between private credit and minority equity. It structures mezzanine debt, subordinated notes, structured equity, and one-stop financing for sponsor-led transactions. It does not seek control equity positions — the buyout risk sits with the lead sponsor, not Oxer. The firm operates like a dedicated mezzanine fund with an equity co-investment sleeve.

Oxer only invests directly into operating companies through deal-by-deal structuring. It does not make primary fund commitments into other GPs. Blake Sousa, who led an SBIC fund-of-funds program at Huntington National Bank before joining Oxer, brought institutional limited-partner experience to the team, but the firm has no fund-investing product.

Oxer targets established lower middle market companies with $10 million to $100 million in revenue and $1 million to $10 million in EBITDA. Its transaction types span growth equity, acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, management buyouts, recapitalizations, shareholder liquidity events, and ESOP transactions. The firm does not invest in early-stage or venture-backed companies — every portfolio company has meaningful operating history and cash flow.

There is no ongoing corporate affiliation, but the personnel overlap is significant. Founding Partner Frank Capella, Partner Michael O'Brien, and Managing Director Blake Sousa all spent substantial portions of their careers at Huntington Capital Investment Company, the mezzanine-investing arm of Huntington Bancshares. Capella and O'Brien together originated and managed over $270 million in mezzanine investments there before founding Oxer in 2016. The firm's investment philosophy and industry network grew directly out of that Huntington lineage.

Oxer's entire model is co-investment: the firm provides a minority capital layer alongside a control equity sponsor. It does not lead transactions or control boards. This capital is structured to fill the gap between senior debt and sponsor equity. The firm welcomes repeat relationships with private equity firms, independent sponsors, and family offices, and its portfolio suggests high sponsor repeat rates given the volume of transactions (over 105 companies funded since 2016).