Out-of-State Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan
California Community HQ or Facility: Irvine
California County: Orange
Information: The private equity firm, which was launched in Chicago in 2000 and relocated to Irvine, Calif., shortly after, has moved to Michigan. Mlive.com reports that "With 70 percent of the company’s investments in the Midwest or on the East Coast ... the firm wanted to be closer to its current and future operations .... A second California office remains in San Francisco. Martin Stein said while many of its competitors are based in Chicago, the firm sought to differentiate itself by locating in Grand Rapids. 'We saw Grand Rapids as a great location for recruiting talent,' he said. 'We also think Michigan has some extremely strong manufacturing opportunities and wanted to be close to future investments that we would be making' .... Blackford Capital focuses on older, profitable operations where the owner wants to grow or exit the company. Stein said they are not short-term investors. 'Our youngest company is 20 years old and our oldest is 80,' he said .... Stein serves on the boards of five of the firm’s portfolio companies, including serving as chairman of the board for Amtech Corp. and Staging Concepts." Also, Stein, a Grand Rapids native, said his hometown is "a great place to raise a family."
Source: mlive.com (Grand Rapids Press story, April 28, 2011, "Private equity firm headquarters move from California to Grand Rapids."
Type of Calif. Disinvestment Event: (RELO-OSR) Out-of-State Relocation.
