Leading Private Equity Firms in Cincinnati for 2025

The Cincinnati metropolitan area boasts a diversified economic base that includes strong representation in healthcare, manufacturing, consumer goods, logistics, and financial services. Cincinnati has been a major beneficiary of Ohio’s business friendly policies and reasonable cost of living. The city is home to the headquarters of Fortune 500 companies like Procter & Gamble, Kroger, and Fifth Third Bancorp, the city provides a stable platform for investment and M&A activity. The presence of large corporations also generates spinoff opportunities in middle-market businesses ripe for investment or operational improvement. 

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 Cincinnati 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. RC Capital

Overview: RC Capital is a growth equity firm exclusively focused on building high-potential healthcare companies. The firm invests at the convergence of three core verticals—medical devices, healthcare services, and healthcare IT (HCIT)—with a unique perspective that prioritizes the "right side of healthcare": those businesses that improve patient outcomes, support providers, and eliminate inefficiencies in care delivery. Backed by three decades of operational experience, RC Capital works closely with clinicians, operators, and sector experts to scale businesses that are not typically served by traditional institutional investors. Their sector-driven strategy and emphasis on robust technology infrastructure support transformational, sustainable growth.

Focus: RC Capital targets emerging companies within specialized healthcare segments including home health, behavioral health, CDMO/device services, HCIT, specialty dental, and surgical tools, among others. The firm prioritizes clinical alignment and value creation planning to help management teams scale operationally, technologically, and strategically. Within HCIT, RC Capital focuses on tech-enabled services that reduce care costs and elevate patient engagement, such as remote monitoring, telehealth, and revenue cycle management. In medical devices, the firm targets FDA-cleared, evidence-backed technologies aligned with minimally invasive surgery and efficient diagnostics.

RC Capital’s investments address several macro tailwinds: the consumerization of healthcare, AI/ML-driven care delivery, value-based reimbursement, the shift to lower-cost clinical settings, and the rise of behavioral and preventative care. Across all investments, RC Capital aims to elevate care quality, improve access, and generate durable value by backing companies that become leaders in their respective niches.

2. Timber Bay Partners

Overview: Timber Bay Partners is a private investment firm that specializes in providing structured secondary solutions for general partners. Formed in 2016, the firm builds on more than a decade of experience from its partners, who have worked together since 2009. With over 50 years of collective experience in GP-led transactions, Timber Bay brings a seasoned and flexible approach to solving fund management and liquidity needs. The firm emphasizes customized solutions tailored to the needs of each constituent, particularly in scenarios involving continuation vehicles and capital alignment across stakeholders.

Focus: Timber Bay invests in North America-based buyout and growth equity funds, as well as sponsor-backed companies looking to enhance limited partner liquidity or support portfolio company expansion. Target deal sizes are typically $100 million or less. The firm offers a variety of transaction types including fund recapitalizations, preferred LP interests, tender offers, co-investor interest purchases, strip sales, and solutions for independent sponsors. Timber Bay is industry-agnostic but frequently invests in industrial services, business services, healthcare, financial services, consumer, and technology sectors. The firm’s approach is marked by its flexibility, deep sponsor alignment, and execution capability in GP-led secondary transactions.

3. Orchard Holdings Group

Overview: Orchard Holdings Group is a private investment firm that deploys patient, long-term family capital to build enduring partnerships with exceptional management teams. Distinct from traditional private equity models, Orchard prioritizes longer-term holding periods and high flexibility in deal structuring. Founded with roots dating back to 2003 and having evolved through a partnership with a multi-billion dollar single-family office from 2010 to 2022, Orchard’s principals have over a decade of experience working together. Their investment philosophy blends a family office heritage with institutional-level rigor, aimed at creating substantial long-term value.

Focus: Orchard seeks opportunities across the United States and Canada that align with long-term growth potential and legacy preservation, avoiding the short-term pressures of conventional PE. The firm typically invests $20–75 million of equity per platform and is open to larger investments through co-investment. Target companies generally have $20–250 million in revenue and $5–25 million in EBITDA, with 10%+ margins. Orchard favors situations with extended payoff timelines or limited exit alternatives, and does not invest where exogenous, technological, or fundamental business model risk dominates. It focuses on business services, consumer, financial services, healthcare, and industrials, and is open to both control and structured minority equity transactions.

4. Northcreek Mezzanine

Overview: Northcreek Mezzanine is a Cincinnati-based SBIC formed to provide flexible mezzanine debt and equity co-investments for lower middle-market companies across the United States. Since its founding in 2010, Northcreek has invested in over 80 companies, earning a reputation as a reliable financial partner. The firm is currently deploying capital from its $195 million Fund III (2019 vintage) and focuses on both sponsored and non-sponsored transactions. Northcreek works with a broad range of partners, including financial sponsors, independent sponsors, search funds, and private company owners, to deliver highly customized capital solutions.

Focus: Northcreek targets non-control investments in companies with at least $5 million in revenue and $1 million in EBITDA, with typical check sizes ranging from $1 to $12 million. The firm offers mezzanine debt and equity co-investments across a wide array of industries with no specific sector bias. Ideal situations include acquisitions, growth initiatives, recapitalizations, refinancings, and market or product expansions. Northcreek values strong management teams, diversified revenues, profitability, and identifiable growth potential. Investment maturities generally span 3 to 5 years. The firm’s edge lies in its speed, flexibility, and deep experience in structuring efficient, partner-aligned deals.

5. Brixey & Meyer Capital

Overview: Brixey & Meyer Capital is a lower middle market private investment firm with over 14 years of experience. The firm has raised more than $200 million in capital and has completed over 10 investments to date. With a disciplined focus on privately held companies, Brixey & Meyer operates with the mission of delivering strategic support and capital to enable long-term growth. The firm emphasizes a hands-on, collaborative approach and values leadership continuity or smooth succession planning during transitions.

Focus: Brixey & Meyer Capital targets companies with recurring and sustainable EBITDA between $2 million and $10 million, and does not impose a minimum threshold for add-on acquisitions. It seeks businesses within defensible industry niches that offer strong growth potential. A key investment prerequisite is the presence of a capable management team willing to either continue leading the company or participate in a planned transition. The firm typically invests in businesses located in the Eastern and Central time zones, ensuring geographic alignment with its operational footprint.

6. Roebling Capital Partners

Overview: Roebling Capital Partners is a private equity firm that partners with lower-middle-market businesses across the United States. Founded in 2020, the Roebling team draws upon more than 100 years of collective operating and investing experience and a track record of over 200 completed M&A transactions. Through its proprietary Roebling Value Added™ framework (RVA), the firm combines flexible capital with hands-on operational resources to professionalize founder-led companies, accelerate scalable growth, and unlock long-term value for all stakeholders.

Focus: Roebling Capital Partners targets control or significant minority investments in U.S. business that generate at least $5 million in revenue, $1 million of EBITDA, and 10%+ margins. The firm is industry-agnostic within four core verticals; business services, niche manufacturing, consumer products, and healthcare. Roebling structures transactions to support growth capital, management buyouts, recapitalizations, and succession or liquidity solutions. Employing its RVA playbook, Roebling emphasizes digital transformation, talent updates, add-on acquisitions, and data driven process improvements, all while maintaining close alignment with founders and management teams.

7. Front Street Equity Partners

Overview: Front Street Equity Partners is a specialized private equity and strategic advisory firm uniquely focused on the franchise industry. As the first and only pure-play firm of its kind, Front Street is dedicated to exponentially growing enterprise brand value within compressed timeframes. The firm provides capital investment, strategic guidance, and deep industry relationships to accelerate brand scaling in a highly regulated and complex distribution ecosystem. By leveraging extensive franchise experience and a wide network of partners—including investment banks, family offices, branding firms, and legal experts—Front Street positions itself as a transformative growth partner for franchise-driven businesses.

Focus: Front Street Equity Partners invests in and advises franchise businesses with the potential to rapidly grow enterprise value. The firm’s approach centers on brands with strong growth ambitions, a scalable model, and the capacity to thrive under a franchising strategy. Recognizing the regulatory and operational complexity of franchising, Front Street offers comprehensive support across market trends, legal compliance, brand strategy, unit-level performance, and proprietary systems development. Its partner ecosystem spans private equity and consulting firms, development agencies, and real estate and tech collaborators. Front Street is particularly focused on executing time-sensitive growth strategies in collaboration with experienced industry stakeholders.

8. Ardlussa Capital

Overview: Ardlussa Capital is a flexible capital solutions provider that partners with financial sponsors and limited partners to deliver tailored investment structures. The firm’s leadership brings extensive experience in executing complex transactions across secondaries and co-investments. Ardlussa is known for its collaborative approach, aligning with sector-focused sponsors who demonstrate strong operational capabilities and deep domain expertise. With a broad and differentiated network, Ardlussa maintains strong relationships with a diverse base of sponsors, LPs, and intermediaries, enabling it to address varied capital needs while prioritizing long-term alignment across all stakeholders.

Focus: Ardlussa Capital specializes in GP-led secondaries, traditional secondaries, and co-investments, partnering with sponsors to support recapitalizations, growth financing, and acquisition funding. The firm targets profitable businesses in the U.S., Canada, and Western Europe, particularly within the technology, healthcare, and services sectors. Ardlussa emphasizes disciplined underwriting, domain-aligned partnerships, and structural flexibility in its investment approach, aiming to support businesses in their next phase of development while aligning with the enduring interests of its clients.

9. Foxhole Equity

Overview: Foxhole is a private investment firm focused on building sustainable companies that create long-term opportunity and value. With a people-first, entrepreneur-minded ethos, Foxhole partners with exceptional leaders to acquire and grow mid-market businesses. The firm targets companies with a reputation for premium quality, strong service delivery, and operational reliability. Foxhole’s model is particularly appealing to business owners who value continuity, culture preservation, and legacy protection. Its collaborative approach supports growth through targeted acquisitions and active partnership.

Focus: Foxhole seeks control investments in companies with $2 to $10 million in EBITDA and EBITDA margins of 15% or higher. The firm focuses on three primary domains: Industrial Business Services, Aviation Services, and Tech-Enabled Services—each representing sectors with long-term growth potential and opportunities for transformation. Foxhole takes an opportunistic approach, remaining open to exceptional businesses and entrepreneurs that may fall outside these categories but align with its values and mission to foster “lifetimes of opportunity.”

10. Fireroad Ventures

Overview: Fireroad is a next-generation holding company dedicated to launching, investing in, and scaling mission-driven businesses. With over $3 billion in value created, 75+ startups launched, and more than 500 jobs generated, Fireroad is powered by a team of experienced operators and serial entrepreneurs who have raised over $450 million in capital. The firm takes a hands-on, long-term approach to building companies, collaborating with bold leaders to drive sustainable impact and unlock lasting value.

Fireroad’s model—“Build. Buy. Back.”—embodies its entrepreneurial ethos and dedication to long-term stewardship. The firm is not merely a capital provider, but an active architect in company formation, growth strategy, and operational leadership. Its partnerships are driven by curiosity, conviction, and a desire to turn lesser-known paths into transformative ventures.

Focus: Fireroad seeks to back and build ventures that align with its core belief in purpose-driven entrepreneurship. It emphasizes early-stage and growth investments where the firm’s operational experience, capital, and resilience can catalyze scale. Fireroad looks for founders and teams who are mission-aligned and willing to take the unconventional road—entrepreneurs with the courage to lead and the humility to adapt. The firm targets opportunities that prioritize long-term societal impact alongside scalable commercial outcomes.

Start Leveraging Dakota Research!

Dakota Research goes beyond aggregating investment data - it transforms the way investment professionals access and analyze private fund intelligence. By delivering real-time insights, comprehensive manager coverage, and performance data, we empower investors to make informed, data-driven decisions with confidence.

Our mission is to streamline the research and due diligence process, providing investment professionals with the critical intelligence needed to identify opportunities and build lasting partnerships in the private fund market.

To explore more information on private funds, book a demo of Dakota Research today.