Rainier Partners, a private equity firm investing in lower middle-market services businesses, completed fundraising for Rainier Partners Fund I at its hard cap of $300 million, in excess of its $250 million target. The fund’s limited partners include foundations, global asset managers, insurance companies, pension plans, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals.
Founded by Alex Rolfe and Jon Altman, Rainier focuses its investment strategy on lower middle-market businesses across North America, with a particular interest in business services, financial services, consumer services, and industrial services. Altman and Rolfe have twenty years of shared history in lower middle-market private equity investing. The Rainier team brings an active partnership approach to investments, providing operational resources, strategic support, and significant growth capital. The firm primarily invests in control buyouts, with a focus on family-, founder-, and privately-owned businesses and corporate carve-outs.
“We are proud to celebrate this important milestone in our firm’s history,” said Altman. “We are thankful for the strong reception we’ve received and are honored to partner with world-class investors who share our excitement for our proven strategy.”
Since its founding, Rainier has made platform investments that include Calpine Containers, one of the largest agricultural packaging distributors in the US, Wilmar, a leading supplier, distributor, and category manager of tools and equipment, and Pet Food Express, an omnichannel pet retailer that sells healthy pet foods, goods, and services. Rainier also doubled the size of its team during 2022 and is continuing to hire to support its growth.
“This achievement is a testament to the team we’ve had the privilege to build since launching Rainier,” said Rolfe. “As we look ahead, we’re excited to continue executing on our proven strategy — investing in scalable services industries where we have deep experience and can provide operational resources and strategic insights.”
M2O Private Fund Advisors acted as the exclusive placement agent. Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as fund counsel to Rainier.