- Wednesday May 17, 2017
On April 11, 2017 Grosse Pointe Farms resident Scott Reilly was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Detroit Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth at its annual M&A All Star Awards event. The event was held at the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham and is the organization’s largest and most prestigious gathering at which professionals in the mergers and acquisition industry are recognized for their accomplishments. Several hundred people attended the ceremony, including many of the most prominent investment professionals, transaction attorneys, consultants and executives from the region.
The ACG Lifetime Achievement award is the organization’s highest honor that has been conferred by the Detroit Chapter on only a few prior occasions. The award is intended to recognize the career of individuals who have had an especially significant and lasting impact on the capital formation and transactional finance industry in Southeastern Michigan.
Mr. Reilly was recognized for his accomplishments in helping to establish and grow the private equity industry in Michigan. In 1995, he co‐founded Detroit‐based Peninsula Capital Partners L.L.C. and is its current President. Peninsula is a private equity firm that has raised six limited partnership investment vehicles totaling $1.6 billion dollars from institutional investors in North America and Europe, and has been recognized as one of the top performing investment firms of its kind. Peninsula was one of the earliest private equity firms in Michigan and its success helped pave the way for other private capital management firms in Michigan. In addition to Peninsula, Mr. Reilly also participated in the founding of two other Michigan‐based private equity firms, Huron Capital Partners L.L.C. and Superior Capital Partners L.L.C. Prior to moving to Michigan in 1995, Mr. Reilly was a resident of the Twin Cities where he participated in the development of two other private investment firms, Churchill Capital, Inc. and Northstar Capital L.L.C.
For his entrepreneurial and pioneering efforts towards establishing a private equity industry in Michigan, the Detroit Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth bestowed on him its Lifetime Achievement Award. At the ceremony, Mr. Reilly credited his success to the constant support of his partners, colleagues and his wife of 25‐years, Lan‐Huong Reilly. When asked his thoughts on receiving the award, Mr. Reilly said, “I was certainly taken aback when first informed about the award as I did not even know I was being considered for it. Now that I have had some time to reflect on it, the full extent of the honor is apparent and I am appropriately humbled that ACG would see fit to recognize my career with this prestigious award.”
The Detroit Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth is part of the national ACG organization which is dedicated to promoting and supporting public policies that foster and incentivize the formation of private capital, investment and job growth for middle‐market companies. For more information, please visit their website at www.acg.org/detroit/.
For more information about Mr. Reilly, please contact his office at 313.237.5100, or visit the Peninsula Capital Partners website at peninsulacapital.com.
Just over seven years ago, we announced that MMGY Global was being backed by an investment group, Peninsula Capital Partners L.L.C., out of Detroit, MI. While unsure of what the new reality might look like going from a family-owned business for more than three decades to one that was private equity backed, I decided to jump in feet first and full of optimism.
I’m so glad I did because in the seven years we’ve partnered with Peninsula we have invested in 11 travel-focused businesses, grew our team of 175 professionals to 600, and expanded our research capabilities to a global scale.
We are now better positioned than ever to serve our clients with a level of global talent and expertise that is setting a new standard for agency partners. Thank you to Karl LaPeer, Andrew Wiegand, Dennis Murphy and the team at Peninsula for supporting us at every turn the last 7+ years.
From the very beginning, we have had a very collaborative and enjoyable partnership with Peninsula. We built camaraderie through challenges that could stress relationships. We have had numerous complicated issues to resolve and they continue to help us find solutions. Their team brings a very desirable combination of experience, skills, and integrity. Our team has really enjoyed the partnership and we look forward to working together for many years to come.”
It has been a pleasure to work with the people at Peninsula. During good times, they have been supportive of our growth. When our business faced challenging economic times, their trust in our management team, financial support and willingness to adjust our capital structure helped to navigate to a stable and healthy position. Peninsula’s strong bank relationships are a key element to our business’ success.”
To find a partner that shared our passion was a prerequisite that we thought we’d struggle to find, but from the get go Peninsula showed a real understanding and empathy for our business and the people within it. We’re over a year in and we’re delighted with our decision and remain firmly on track to achieve our ambitious long-term goals.”
Partnering with Peninsula has been one of the best decisions we have made thus far as an independent sponsor. The team is highly disciplined, applies strong analytics and consistently displays a high level of integrity. Through good times and bad, Peninsula has proven to be a valuable partner, providing solid guidance and support to management teams and independent sponsors alike. While risk mitigation is always front and center, Peninsula is adept at finding smart and creative ways to help companies grow while maintaining a strong and vibrant work culture for employees to thrive.”
When we sold our company to Peninsula, I had many questions, and some anxiety, about how we would be treated post-deal. Seven years later, all of those questions have been answered. It could not be a more fulfilling (and successful) partnership.”
Peninsula has been an invaluable partner for Weave. Of the various capital partners we considered, Peninsula treated us like a true partner throughout the process, engaging in honest and transparent dialog. Post transaction, the Peninsula team continued to be aligned and cooperative partners, helping to professionalize the financials, inserting new management, and securing a larger warehouse. As a capital provider, Peninsula is singular in its understanding of, and flexibility in, working with independent sponsors.”
Over the past seven years, Peninsula Capital Partners has been instrumental in supporting the Burlington team’s transition from a small unsophisticated company to a global leader in the radiation protection industry. They have supported us through early challenges, led our strategic acquisition efforts, and they continue to act as an extension of our management team. In doing so, they understand our business and have embraced our company vision. We deeply appreciate the investment Peninsula Capital Partners has made in upgrading our manufacturing and computer technologies, but their most valuable contributions have been their partnership, support, and guidance.”
In my experience, strategic alignment of stakeholders is the most critical element of success for a private equity-backed business. The Peninsula team does a fantastic job of communicating with management to ensure such alignment. They create a true partnership, striking an ideal balance between guidance and autonomy, and have proven to be extremely skillful in creating the right environment for growth.”
We represented a client who had recently closed a transaction with Peninsula. It has been our experience that cultural fit is an important ingredient of a successful transaction. Our client had an instant connection with the Peninsula team, which carried all the way through negotiations, due diligence and the inevitable complexities that emerge in any transaction. The unique deal structure proposed by Peninsula was a compelling value proposition for our client and we look forward to their shared future success.”
Over the last several years, we have faced a unique challenge caused by COVID. When an industry experiences these types of shocks, all aspects of your business are tested, including key financial partnerships. During times of risk, most financial partners will look for ways to tighten controls and restrict how a company operates. James Illikman and Peninsula took a different approach and looked at the longer-term opportunity and invested the time and resources into making the business stronger.”
Chris Gessner and Peninsula have been our go-to capital partner for years now. Their ability and desire to work through difficult and challenging deal issues sets them apart from other capital partners. Chris is flexible and creative in negotiations with both sellers and independent sponsors and is transparent throughout the deal process.”
I strongly recommend that you consider Peninsula Capital as your business partner. Together, we have done so much more than I could have possibly done alone. They have guided my team and provided insight and resources which we’ve used to increase the value of my company substantially! My only regret is that I did not contact them earlier in the development of my company because I am having fun and attaining outstanding success by working with Peninsula Capital. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions related to this partnership with Peninsula Capital Partners.”