Earlier this morning Bow River Capital 2017 Fund (“Bow River”) announced that it has completed a recapitalization of Ocean Tomo. Bow River’s investment and commitment to follow-on acquisitions expands Ocean Tomo’s industry leading platform and compliments the firms’ 2018 international expansion with Sinofaith IP Group.
As part of the transaction, Ocean Tomo’s existing equity owners retain a meaningful ownership stake in the Company and will continue to lead the organization on a go-forward basis. Bow River is looking forward to partnering with management to expand the firm’s offering from “IP-only” to “IP-driven” by addressing a broad range of technology valuation and investment banking matters as well as pursuing select key hires and investments in follow-on acquisitions.
Founded in 2003, “Ocean Tomo is exactly the type of company Bow River looks for in a platform investment”, notes Eric Wolf, a Managing Director at Bow River. “The founders have assembled a best-in-class team that has a fantastic reputation in a great industry. We are thrilled to be a part of the Ocean Tomo story and are excited about what the future holds.”
James E. Malackowski, CEO of Ocean Tomo said: “Ocean Tomo has developed its relationship with Bow River over more than four years, allowing us to immediately begin executing on our shared vision. Bow River’s commitment has been unwavering, including during the current coronavirus crisis. The partnership with Bow River will support the continued scaling of our current service offering to compete with general technology investment banking firms.”
Prior to the Bow River investment, Ocean Tomo announced the formation of the firm’s COVID Risk & Resiliency Center, led by Managing Director Manish Das. The Center seeks to assist clients in addressing COVID-19 risk and resiliency measures impacting intangible asset valuations, including when needed, corporate restructuring.
“Adding a strong investment partner to the Ocean Tomo team is exactly what management set out to do when we joined them as a minority investor in 2018” added Kevin Sun, CEO of Sinofaith IP Group of Shanghai, China. As part of the Bow River transaction, Sinofaith has added to its previous investment.
Davis Graham & Stubbs, LLP served as legal advisor to Bow River. Vedder Price, LLP served as legal counsel to Ocean Tomo. The transaction was support by First Midwest Bank.
Founded in 2003, Bow River Capital is a private alternative asset management company based in Denver, Colorado, with Buyout, Real Estate, and Software Growth Equity platforms. The Bow River Capital funds focus on the lower middle market across a geographic area referred to as Bow River Capital’s Rodeo Region®, which encompasses the Rocky Mountains and surrounding states. Collectively, Bow River Capital has deployed capital into diverse industries, asset classes, and across the capital structure.