Speyside Equity

Fix & Build is Speyside's operationally intensive approach to acquiring middle-market businesses with histories of profitability that are underperforming due to financial, operational, or transactional stress. The firm takes control, restructures operations, and holds assets to build value through organic improvement and add-on acquisitions rather than financial engineering. It applies the strategy across carve-outs, family successions, public-to-private deals, and distressed situations.

In August 2023, Speyside closed a $620 million continuation fund for Opta Group, an amalgamation of two Fund I portfolio companies, Opta Minerals and SKW. The anchor investor is Elliott Investment Management. This GP-led secondary structure allows Speyside to extend its hold period beyond the original fund life and continue its operational consolidation strategy, with Managing Directors Eric Wiklendt, Kevin Daugherty, and Nicholas Lardo leading the continuation vehicle.

Speyside considers investments globally but focuses its headquarters and primary deal origination on North America. The firm's website states target companies have operations worldwide, yet the specific disclosed investments—Opta Group, Reed Minerals, and others—reflect a strong North American industrial footprint. No dedicated non-North American office is currently listed.

Investment decisions are led by the three Managing Directors: Kevin Daugherty, Eric Wiklendt, and Nicholas Lardo. They form the core of the senior investment committee and are supported by Principals Kyle Cash, Marcus Badger, and Nathan Quattrochi, who collectively carry significant transactional and operational experience from prior roles at Speyside and elsewhere.

Speyside targets equity checks of up to $75 million per platform investment, with the ability to go higher alongside co-investors. Deal size may exceed that range on a case-by-case basis, and bolt-on acquisitions have no minimum size limit. The firm targets companies with revenue between $50 million and $500 million.