LBC Provides Financing to Two Lower Middle Market Companies, Adds Weidner to Investment Team

LBC Small Cap, an affiliate of LBC Credit Partners, recently provided financing to support the growth of two U.S.-based lower middle market companies. In addition, the company added Chris Weidner to the investment team as a senior associate.

In the first financing, LBC Small Cap provided a secured mezzanine investment to support the acquisition of SIB Fixed Cost Reduction by O2 Investment Partners.

Founded by Dan Schneider in 2008 and headquartered in Charleston, SC, SIB is a provider of cost reduction services providing invoice analysis, vendor negotiation and cost monitoring over multiple expense categories for customers across a variety of end markets. O2 Investment Partners is a Midwestern-based private equity firm that seeks to acquire majority interests in lower middle market B2B services, technology and select niche industrial companies.

Additionally, LBC Small Cap provided senior secured credit facilities and an equity co-investment to support the recapitalization of Breakout EDU by Cascadily, along with members of management. LBC Small Cap served as agent for the senior secured credit facilities.

Breakout EDU is based in California and was founded in 2015 by James Sanders, Adam Bellow and Mark Hammons. Breakout is a learning games platform that brings the challenges of an escape room to the classroom through a physical game kit and digital game platform. Breakout EDU has developed more than 1,600 standards-aligned games for use in K-12 classrooms across the United States. Cascadily is a Minnesota-based, independent private equity sponsor that invests in education-related businesses in the middle market. As part of the transaction, Joe Cotter, co-founder of Learners Edge, joined the company’s board of directors to assist the management team in executing its next stage of growth.

Separately, LBC Small Cap added Chris Weidner to the investment team as a senior associate. He is responsible for working with senior investment professionals to underwrite and execute new investments while assisting with monitoring existing portfolio investments. Prior to joining LBC Small Cap, he worked in corporate strategy at Comcast NBCUniversal and as an investment professional at Boathouse Capital.

LBC Small Cap is focused on originating, executing and managing senior secured, unitranche, junior debt, structured equity and equity co-investments in U.S.-based lower middle market companies.