Annapurna Capital Management is a private equity investor focused on lower middle-market acquisitions in energy services, freight transportation, and related industries, with offices in Greenwich, Connecticut and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Our tight-knit team has worked together for over a decade and possesses all necessary capabilities for the acquisition and improvement of businesses in our target industries.  Our members enjoy a superlative network in the industries we target, and in the key geographies including the U.S. Mid-Continent, the U.S. Gulf Coast, and transportation hubs such as Houston, Kansas City and Chicago.

We also draw upon our allies in the Greenwich and New York finance community, meaning we can make the right connections for our portfolio companies whatever their specific needs.  Our operational and supervisory knowhow provides real value to the management teams with whom we partner. 

Our Leadership

Marshall Brandt
Managing Partner

 

Will Steffe
Partner

 

Lukas Larsson
Partner

 

An Expert Approach to the Energy Services Market

Annapurna Capital Management has unparalleled expertise in the energy services industry.  We understand the major oil and gas regions in North America and the industry's key players.  We're one of the few private equity investors with an office in the U.S. Mid Continent, which allows us to optimize management of portfolio company operations and make vital connections on behalf of our management teams.  We retain strong ties in the domestic, off-shore and Canadian energy markets and the industry intelligence they provide.

Our partners have sourced and executed acquisitions in the energy services space, including the highly successful Cimarron Acid & Frac, LLC story described below. We evaluate opportunities in all niches of the energy services space, including companies serving the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors. 

Case Study: Cimarron Acid & Frac LLC

Prior to its merger with Consolidated Oil Well Services in 2015, Cimarron Acid & Frac LLC, was a leading energy services company providing pressure pumping services to leading independent oil and gas companies, primarily in Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas.  

“The Annapurna team provided much more than just a capital infusion that drove our market share. Their operational input accelerated the maturity of our business, and we were able to move much faster because of it.””
— Cimarron CEO, Trent Watkins

Annapurna acquired a majority stake in Cimarron in September 2013.  Immediately post-transaction, we brought in an interim CFO to elevate the level of financial oversight at the firm, we upgraded all back office functions and company benefits, and we built an incentive program to align the interests of key employees with those of shareholders.  We granted equity units to key people in business development, engineering, safety, and finance.

Following the implementation of near-term initiatives, we made permanent hires at CFO and Controller, relocated the company's headquarters to Tulsa, OK, and recapitalized the business partnering with GE Capital to double Cimarron’s equipment base. With the company’s profile and structure now fully upgraded, Cimarron was able to expand its customer base and simultaneously raise prices on its offerings.

Annapurna exited its Cimarron investment in January 2015 with the company having tripled earnings during the period of Annapurna’s ownership.

A Fundamentally Sound Approach Regardless of Sector

While Annapurna Capital Management focuses on the energy services and freight transportation industries, we often consider investments outside these industries when the opportunity is right. The combined experience of our team includes exposure to niche manufacturers, service businesses, financial firms, and companies in a myriad of other industries.  

We ask our management teams to be opportunistic and we follow our own advice. If we have sufficient understanding of a business and we believe our advisory and capital markets expertise can help grow that business, we will not hesitate to make an investment.   

Adding Value to Middle-Market Freight Transportation Firms

Annapurna Capital Management has a wealth of experience in improving the operations of freight transportation businesses. We understand how to evaluate key operating metrics, we are comfortable working with asset-intensive businesses, and we place operational safety above all priorities.  

Our experience includes merchant banking work with a specialty heavy-haul trucking company (described in more detail here), and raising hundreds of millions of dollars in financing for trucking, rail and marine transportation companies.  

We consider acquisitions in a variety of areas of the freight transportation industry.  This includes but is not limited to the following: 

  • Truckload carriers (Temperature-Controlled, Bulk, Flatbed, and Heavy-Haul, etc)
  • Shortline Railroads
  • Transloading Companies
  • Port and Transload Facilities
  • Jones Act Shipping (Offshore Supply Vessels, Tank Barges, and other Work Boats)
  • Suppliers to the Freight Transportation Industry
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Interested in Partnering with Annapurna?