Family investment firm with permanent capital

Stephens Group

At a glance

Assets under management$2B (as of Jul 2026) S8
EBITDA range$5M to $30M S2
Revenue range$5M to $20M S2
Check size$10M to $150M S2
Deal typesPlatform, Add-on, Minority, Growth S2
GeographyNorth America S2
SectorsEnvironmental & Waste, Industrial & Manufacturing, Distribution, Software & SaaS

What Stephens Group buys

The Stephens Group is the Little Rock, Arkansas investment firm of the Witt Stephens Jr. and Elizabeth Campbell families. Run as a stand-alone investor since 2006, it invests long-term family capital rather than a fund and manages about $2 billion of private investments. It takes control or significant minority stakes in companies based in North America. For industrial buyouts it looks for roughly $5 million to $30 million of EBITDA with first checks of about $25 million to $150 million; vertical software targets have about $5 million to $20 million of revenue, and growth equity checks run about $10 million to $50 million.

Industrial services is a core area. The firm names facility trades, infrastructure work, testing and inspection, and environmental work such as remediation and hazardous waste among its interests, and it also backs specialty distributors and engineered product makers. Platforms grow by add-on, and add-ons can be any size. A smaller owner is most likely to meet it through Astro Pak in precision cleaning, Aptus Aero in aircraft component repair or Kele in automation distribution.

Recent deals

Announced in the 24 months before October 27, 2026.

DateCompanyTypeSectorSource
Jul 2026Frontline Global ServicesDiboll, Texas provider of oil flushing, chemical cleaning and fluid purification for industrial equipment, added to Astro Pak; its president stays onAdd-onEnvironmental & WasteSource
Jun 2026E.M.C. AerospaceNorth Miami Beach aircraft component repair station, the second acquisition for Aptus AeroAdd-onIndustrial & ManufacturingSource
Jun 2026Purepass ServicesOntario high purity cleaning firm that gave Astro Pak its first Canadian locationAdd-onEnvironmental & WasteSource
May 2026IMA Financial GroupExited in a recapitalization led by Oak Hill Capital, New Mountain Capital and HarbourVest that valued IMA at $4.0 billionExitInsurance BrokerageSource
Apr 2026Aptus Aero / Atlas AerospaceNew aviation component repair platform formed with the purchase of Atlas Aerospace, a Doral, Florida repair station founded in 1978PlatformIndustrial & ManufacturingSource
Mar 2026Clean SciencesFremont, California precision cleaning provider, Astro Pak's first add-on under Stephens GroupAdd-onEnvironmental & WasteSource
Oct 2025Spitzer IndustriesSold to Race Rock after a holding period of nearly two decadesExitIndustrial & ManufacturingSource
Jun 2025LedgebrookLed a $65 million Series C for the specialty insurance technology companyGrowthSource
May 2025Ponton IndustriesCalifornia instrumentation sales and consulting firm added to Kele, its seventh acquisition in seven yearsAdd-onDistributionSource
Mar 2025KalkomeyInvestment in a Texas provider of online hunting, boating and off-road safety coursesInvestmentEducationSource
Feb 2025Astro PakAcquired a Costa Mesa, California precision and high purity cleaning services company founded in 1959PlatformEnvironmental & WasteSource
Jan 2025QuantifindTook part in a $22 million raise for the financial crime risk software companyGrowthSoftware & SaaSSource
Dec 2024The Computer WorksLed a growth investment, with Circumference Group, in an Arkansas fiber and fixed wireless internet providerGrowthSource
Nov 2024ProkeepBacked Dahlia Equity Partners in a $25 million Series A for messaging software used by distributorsMinoritySoftware & SaaSSource
Oct 2024SchooLinksMinority growth investment in an $80 million round for the K-12 college and career planning software companyMinoritySoftware & SaaSSource

Portfolio by sector

From the firm's portfolio page S6.

Commercial & Industrial Products and Services

  • Hills Distribution

Continuing Investments

  • CoreLink
  • DISCO
  • Energy Transfer
  • StubHub Viagogo
  • Westrock Coffee Company

Energy

  • Stephens Natural Resources

Industrial Products and Services

  • Aptus Aero
  • Astro Pak
  • Exigent
  • Kele
  • Pearlman Group
  • Quality Valve
  • Revolution
  • VisionSafe

Opportunistic Investments

  • The Computer Works (TCW)
  • GoodLeap
  • Hotchkis & Wiley

Vertical Software

  • Accredible
  • Armor
  • Kalkomey
  • Ledgebrook
  • LineLeader
  • Princeton TMX
  • Prokeep
  • Quantifind
  • SchooLinks

Greymont’s take

How Stephens Group fits a seller

Stephens Group suits owners who care about who will hold the business for the long run. Because it invests family money, it has no fund deadline: it owned Spitzer Industries for nearly two decades, with the same leaders in charge throughout, before selling to Race Rock in October 2025. It backed IMA Financial Group from 2020 until a May 2026 recapitalization that valued IMA at $4.0 billion.

Owners of industrial cleaning, aircraft component repair or automation distribution businesses are the likeliest fit right now, mostly as add-ons. Astro Pak made three acquisitions between March and July 2026, and Frontline's president stayed on to run his business. A company below the EBITDA floor can still join through a platform. Ask whether Stephens or the platform company is the actual buyer, how much equity you would roll, and how long the family expects to own the business.

Questions owners ask

Does Stephens Group buy environmental or industrial cleaning companies?

Yes. Its industrial services criteria name environmental work such as compliance, remediation, hazardous waste disposal and resource recovery. Since buying Astro Pak in February 2025, it has added Clean Sciences, Purepass and Frontline Global Services, all precision or industrial cleaning providers.

What size company does Stephens Group look for?

For industrial buyouts it targets about $5 million to $30 million of EBITDA and first investments of about $25 million to $150 million. It says add-ons for companies it already owns can be any size when the strategic fit is good.

Is Stephens Group a private equity fund?

No. It is the private investment firm of the Stephens family and invests long-term family capital. It reports more than $2 billion of private equity assets under management and says it has invested in over 50 companies since 2006.

Does Stephens Group take minority stakes?

Yes. It makes control buyouts and significant minority investments, and in software it has joined growth rounds such as Quantifind's $22 million raise in January 2025 and Ledgebrook's $65 million Series C in June 2025.

Sources

  1. S1Stephens Group home page Accessed October 27, 2026
  2. S2Stephens Group: Investment Focus Accessed October 27, 2026
  3. S3Stephens Group: Industrial Products and Services Accessed October 27, 2026
  4. S4Stephens Group: Our History Accessed October 27, 2026
  5. S5Stephens Group: Our Portfolio Accessed October 27, 2026
  6. S6Stephens Group: Current portfolio (three pages) and Continuing Investments Accessed October 27, 2026
  7. S7Stephens Group: Contact Accessed October 27, 2026
  8. S8Astro Pak LLC Acquires Frontline Global Services, Inc. (July 7, 2026) Accessed October 27, 2026
  9. S9Stephens Group Acquires Astro Pak (February 5, 2025) Accessed October 27, 2026
  10. S10Stephens Group Announces Exit of Long-Term Investment in Spitzer Industries to Race Rock (October 8, 2025) Accessed October 27, 2026
  11. S11Stephens Group Announces Exit of IMA Financial Group (May 19, 2026) Accessed October 27, 2026
  12. S12Stephens Group: News Accessed October 27, 2026

Compiled by Greymont Advisors from public sources, including the firm’s own website and press releases. Greymont is not affiliated with Stephens Group. Figures are as reported on the dates shown and may have changed. Request a correction

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