TEAM Partners

TEAM Partners

Founded in 2005 by Stephen Cook and Thomas Pritchard, TEAM Partners emerged from the recognition that thousands of closely held, profitable businesses in the industrial and business-services sectors lacked a sophisticated transition partner. The firm targets family-owned and owner-operated companies with sustainable cash flows — typically generating at least $1 million in EBITDA — where the founding generation wants liquidity or a strategic partner willing to preserve legacy while funding growth. Unlike generalist middle-market funds, TEAM Partners positions itself as an operational buyer rather than a financial engineer. The firm's investment strategy concentrates on three core verticals: commercial and industrial, consumer products and retail, and business services. Transaction structures are intentionally flexible to accommodate seller priorities — full buyouts, recapitalizations that allow owners to retain minority equity, buy-and-build platforms, and structured minority investments all appear in the toolkit. TEAM Partners focuses on North American companies with $10 million to $100 million in revenue, deploying both controlled-equity and junior-capital solutions. The firm distinguishes itself through an operating-partner model that embeds functional expertise — supply chain, sales-force effectiveness, and strategic procurement — into portfolio companies post-close, rather than relying on spreadsheet-driven oversight. The Dallas-based team has spent two decades refining a sourcing engine built on relationships with business brokers, regional accounting firms, and industry trade associations rather than broad auction processes. In May 2025, the firm continues to execute its lower-middle-market buyout strategy with a dual focus on organic growth and add-on acquisitions for existing platforms. TEAM Partners maintains a lean partnership structure, with Cook and Pritchard remaining closely involved in both origination and portfolio governance. What structurally separates TEAM Partners from thousands of lower-middle-market private equity firms is its explicit rejection of the sponsor-to-sponsor flip as an exit strategy. The firm markets itself to sellers as a long-duration holder — a posture that directly appeals to founders who view their companies as lifetime achievements rather than assets to be stripped and resold within 48 months. This patient-capital architecture, combined with in-house operating expertise, creates a genuine structural alternative for business owners who previously believed an ESOP or a strategic sale to a competitor were their only palatable paths.