Leading Private Equity Firms in St. Louis for 2025

St. Louis offers a uniquely compelling environment for capital markets activity, thanks to its reasonable cost of living, midwestern charm, and Missouri’s consistently pro-business policies. The city provides an attractive quality of life for professionals and entrepreneurs alike, helping to retain top talent while keeping overhead costs low. This affordability, paired with a strong regional work ethic and civic-minded business culture, creates fertile ground for investment. Additionally, Missouri's regulatory climate and tax incentives support business formation, expansion, and long-term sustainability. Together, these advantages make St. Louis a highly conducive market for capital deployment, strategic partnerships, and sustained economic growth.

At Dakota, we provide investment professionals with a centralized platform for private equity intelligence through Dakota Research. Our real-time insights, comprehensive manager coverage, and performance data empower investors to make informed decisions with confidence.

In this article, we’re spotlighting the top private equity firms in the St. Louis metro area that are leading the charge in deal-making and market transformation. By the end, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of these firms, their investment strategies, and their impact on the private equity space.

1. Thompson Street Capital Partners

Overview: Thompson Street Capital Partners is a St. Louis-based, middle-market private equity firm with over 20 years of experience and more than 250 investments. TSCP specializes in transforming high-potential companies into market leaders through a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions. With $4.5 billion in assets under management across seven funds, the firm works closely with management teams to maximize business potential through partnership-driven value creation.

Focus: TSCP targets investments in companies with enterprise values between $50 million and $500 million, particularly those that are asset-light, high-margin, and positioned as leaders within niche markets. The firm focuses on three core sectors: life sciences and healthcare, software and technology, and business and consumer services and products. It differentiates itself through deep operational engagement, flexibility in deal structuring—including recapitalizations, corporate divestitures, and take-privates—and a consistent emphasis on sustainable growth. TSCP values agility, transparency, and strong alignment with founder-led and management-driven organizations to unlock long-term value.

2. Compass Group Equity Partners

Overview: Compass Group is a St. Louis-based private investment firm that partners with small-to-medium-sized private companies that prioritize people, values, and results. Founded in 2014, the firm leverages its leadership’s experience as entrepreneurs, business owners, and executives to invest alongside management teams of closely held businesses. Its investment philosophy is rooted in long-term value creation. Compass recently closed its second fund at a hard cap of $408 million. The firm aims to align with high-quality companies by offering capital, operational expertise, and strategic guidance to help accelerate growth, surpass historical performance, and create market-leading businesses.

Focus: Compass targets platform investments in companies with enterprise values between $20 million and $200 million, and EBITDA ranging from $2 million to $15 million. Its primary sector interests include niche manufacturing, value-added distribution, and business and consumer services. Geographically, Compass focuses on North America. The firm pursues a variety of transaction types including buyouts, recapitalizations, family successions, carve-outs, and industry consolidations.

3. Eagle Private Capital

Overview: Eagle Private Capital is a private investment firm based in St. Louis, founded in 2010 to provide flexible subordinated debt and equity capital to lower-middle market businesses across the U.S. With over $1 billion under management, Eagle partners with management teams and sponsors to support growth, acquisitions, and ownership transitions. The firm’s leadership draws on deep experience in investment banking, commercial lending, and operations, offering tailored capital solutions and long-term support.

Focus: Eagle targets companies with EBITDA above $2 million and revenue between $10 million and $100 million+, typically investing $4 million to $15 million per transaction. The firm participates in buyouts, recapitalizations, and growth financings across sectors including business services, healthcare, manufacturing, IT, and distribution. Eagle favors established companies with stable cash flows and strong management, structuring deals with subordinated debt, preferred equity, and co-investments to match each opportunity’s risk and growth profile.

4. Permanent Equity Partners

Overview: Permanent Equity is a North America-based investment firm that partners with primarily family-owned businesses to foster long-term, legacy-minded growth. The firm emphasizes durability, stewardship, and relational investing—offering capital and operational support while avoiding short-termism and publicity. With a strategy rooted in preserving culture and sustaining growth, Permanent Equity has built a portfolio spanning diverse sectors including aerospace, consumer goods, construction, professional services, and eCommerce.

Focus: Permanent Equity targets growing and mature companies across industries excluding commodities, oilfield services, or asset-intensive businesses like real estate. It invests in businesses with $1–25M in free cash flow and healthy net margins (above 10%), emphasizing long-term ownership and flexible deal structures across growth partnerships, legacy transitions, and buyouts. The firm also pursues follow-on opportunities in sectors like residential construction, picture frame manufacturing, and luxury consumer products, prioritizing strategic partnerships or buyouts with solid earnings and clear value-creation paths.

5. Harbour Group

Overview: Harbour Group is a St. Louis-based private equity firm founded in 1976. Over nearly five decades, it has partnered with management teams to build and grow 231 businesses across 50 industries. The firm takes an operationally intensive approach to value creation, leveraging the expertise of senior executives—most of whom are full-time employees with an average of 25 years of experience. Its model is centered on close collaboration with leadership teams, providing strategic guidance, capital, and functional support to help companies scale and evolve. Harbour emphasizes process discipline, long-term partnerships, and building businesses that deliver enduring value.

Focus: Harbour Group targets product-oriented businesses, particularly in manufacturing and value-added distribution. Ideal acquisition candidates have $4 million to $50 million in EBITDA and North America-based management teams, though operational footprints may be international. The firm’s capabilities span strategic planning, organic growth initiatives such as geographic expansion and new product development, operational excellence driven by global sourcing and metrics-based improvements, and complementary acquisitions—of which it has completed 181 out of 231 total investments.

6. Angellus Capital

Overview: Agellus Capital is a private equity firm founded in 2024 to invest in and scale lower-middle market businesses across the U.S. and Canada. Led by an experienced team of investors and operators, the firm focuses on essential, non-cyclical service sectors and applies a disciplined buy-and-build strategy. With its $400 million debut fund, Agellus partners with management teams to drive organic growth and execute strategic add-on acquisitions, emphasizing long-term value creation over short-term exits.

Focus: Agellus targets companies with EBITDA between $2 million and $20 million, typically investing $50 million to $80 million per platform. The firm focuses on control equity positions in facility services, logistics, IT managed services, and home and auto services. It avoids early-stage businesses, favoring scalable models in fragmented markets where it can implement structured growth strategies. Each investment is tailored to align incentives and support sustainable platform expansion.

7. Sage Capital

Overview: Sage Capital is a private equity firm established in 2004 to make long-term investments in lower-middle market businesses across North America. Founded by a group of experienced executives, the firm is structured around the Sage Capital Investors Roundtable—a committed fund comprised of the founding group and similarly experienced new members. This structure enables Sage Capital to combine operational insight with capital deployment, acting as a strategic partner to management teams. The firm’s model diverges from traditional private equity by emphasizing flexibility in ownership structure and a shared vision for sustainable growth.

Focus: Sage Capital targets companies with EBITDA between $3 million and $10 million, with investment sizes typically ranging from $5 million to $30 million. While they prefer companies within this range, they are open to co-investing in larger deals or smaller local opportunities. The firm avoids early-stage startups but may consider entrepreneurs with validated models for future partnership. Sage Capital pursues investments with competitive advantages, scalable models, and strong management teams, favoring long-term horizons over 10 years. Structurally, the firm participates in acquisitions, minority investments, co-investments, and mezzanine capital, tailoring each deal to maximize strategic alignment and upside potential.

8. Broadview Group

Overview: Broadview Group is an investment firm that partners with business owners and growth-focused leadership teams to build sustainable, long-term businesses. Leveraging a permanent capital base, the firm emphasizes alignment with its partners and portfolio companies by avoiding typical fund-driven exit timelines. Its principals bring over 50 years of operational and investing experience, combining insights from private equity, family office structures, and corporate management. Broadview’s structure allows it to maintain ownership as long as needed, selling only when the timing aligns with the company’s strategy and needs.

Focus: Broadview targets investments in U.S. and Canadian businesses requiring $15 to $75 million in equity capital, either through minority or majority transactions. Ideal candidates have revenue between $25 million and $250 million and EBITDA ranging from $3 million to $20 million. The firm specializes in niche manufacturing, business services, specialty distribution, and B2B food and agriculture sectors. Broadview’s approach emphasizes building through strong teams, long-term perspective, shared values, and disciplined execution.

9. BW Forsyth Partners

Overview: BW Forsyth Partners is the private investment arm of Barry-Wehmiller, a multi-billion-dollar global manufacturing and engineering consulting firm. Founded on a belief that true business value lies in people and purpose, the firm emphasizes a people-centric approach that blends operational strategy with private equity expertise. Since its inception in 2009, BW Forsyth has completed 40 acquisitions and currently operates multiple companies across the capital equipment and insurance services sectors. Their philosophy centers on building enduring value through long-term partnerships, patience, and flexibility, rather than financial engineering.

Focus: BW Forsyth targets founder- and family-owned businesses undergoing transitions, with a strong preference for management buyouts, corporate carve-outs, and public-to-private opportunities. The firm looks for companies in North America and Europe, typically with revenues up to $250 million, EBITDA ranging from $1 million to $20 million, and enterprise values up to $200 million. While add-ons have no minimum size requirement, their core criteria reflect an ability to navigate complex, often distressed, situations with an emphasis on cultural integrity and strategic improvement.

10. Encore Management Group

Overview: Encore Management Group is a Clayton-based private equity firm founded in 2022 to build consumer services platforms in fragmented, high-growth markets. Led by former L Catterton operators, the firm employs long-duration, vertical-focused capital structures and hands-on operational support to drive value and scale.

Focus: Encore targets control investments in sectors such as home health, medspa, and pet services, focusing on businesses with strong unit economics and scalable service models. Typical equity deployment ranges from $45 million to $75 million per vertical, with five-year investment horizons. The firm emphasizes consolidation strategies, operational excellence, and standout customer experience to build long-term platform value.

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