Company Description
Border Foods owns and operates more than 170 Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC restaurants in Minnesota, and has exclusive rights to develop Taco Bells in that state.

Background
Recognizing opportunity in a fundamentally strong sector that was out of favor with investors, Sentinel initiated a search for an investment in the QSR industry in early 1996. This search led to Sentinel being introduced to a Minnesota entrepreneur and 16-year veteran Taco Bell franchisee who, at the time, operated 10 Taco Bell restaurants in Minnesota. Taco Bell had offered him the opportunity to purchase its 65 company-owned Taco Bells in Minnesota. However the entrepreneur did not have enough resources or transaction experience to put the deal together. After carefully considering several private equity firms, the entrepreneur chose Sentinel as his equity partner. With Sentinel, he saw an opportunity to establish significant ownership and create substantial wealth.

Sentinel purchased a majority interest in Border Foods and became the first U.S. private equity firm to secure from Taco Bell and its then corporate parent Pepsico exclusive statewide development rights for the Taco Bell brand. To complete the transaction, the entrepreneur contributed his interest in his 10 Taco Bell restaurants.

The Opportunity

• To partner with a proven operator who had a long record of success in the Mexican QSR business

• To utilize Border Foods' valuable statewide development rights to build new units and increase density in Minnesota

• To complement an experienced small business entrepreneur with additional management talent and build the necessary infrastructure to support future growth

Accomplishments
Supplemented Management in Preparation for Growth: Following the closing, Sentinel recruited a retired, highly successful restaurant executive with a proven record in another large-scale QSR system to help the entrepreneur manage the transition from a 10-store to 75-store operation. Sentinel also played an instrumental role recruiting a Taco Bell finance executive as Border Foods' new CFO and a Taco Bell franchise manager as its new chief development officer. By the end of the first year, Border Foods had installed the systems and management infrastructure necessary to operate more than 100 units.

Opened New Units and Completed Acquisitions: During Sentinel's ownership, Border Foods opened 12 new units and completed two add-on acquisitions—one in the company's core Taco Bell business and one in its sister KFC system.

Outcome
After holding the investment for three years, Border Foods' EBITDA had almost doubled. Having achieved its investment objectives, in late 1999, Sentinel sold Border Foods in a recapitalization transaction to the entrepreneur and his management team, who accomplished their goals of becoming majority owners and creating personal wealth. Since then, Border Foods has continued to grow and add new units under the leadership of its founding entrepreneur.



Case studies have been selected for illustrative purposes for management teams of midmarket companies considering a partnership with Sentinel and should not be considered an offer or solicitation of services or an actual or implied endorsement of Sentinel or any security, investment, or portfolio company. The portfolio companies highlighted are not representative of all current and prior investments of Sentinel. A list and description of investments since Sentinel’s inception is available on this website.

Company Description
At the time of our investment, Falcon owned and operated 97 Church's® Chicken restaurants in the Midwest, making it the then largest franchisee in the Church’s system.

Background
Falcon was owned by a specialty finance company that securitized and sold quick service restaurant loans to institutional investors. The specialty finance company had provided debt financing to Falcon's former owners but ultimately foreclosed on the loan after Falcon's performance deteriorated. Under its ownership, the finance company engaged a turnaround consultant who staunched the cash flow losses and stabilized the business. Because the finance company’s primary business was providing debt financing for restaurants, not owning them, with Falcon operating at breakeven, it decided to sell the business. As an ongoing lender, the finance company sought a trustworthy buyer like Sentinel with a proven QSR record.

To position itself as the next owner, Sentinel needed to replace the turnaround consultant with a permanent CEO. To do this, Sentinel recruited as CEO the COO of a 48-unit Church’s Chicken franchisee, who did not own equity in his company and was seeking an opportunity to create personal wealth. He had an impressive 11-year record in the Church's Chicken system and had led the successful turnaround of the 48-unit franchisee after it was purchased out of bankruptcy by a private investor.

The Opportunity
• To back a proven operator to implement an operating turnaround to restore the units to previous profitability levels and thereafter, to build additional Church's Chicken restaurants in existing markets

• To partner with an ambitious executive who had not yet established personal wealth but who owned a significant stake in Falcon and was highly motivated to create equity value

Accomplishments
Executed Turnaround: Following the closing, Falcon relocated its headquarters to Chicago, close to the majority of its restaurants. Under its new CEO, Falcon recruited a new senior management team, replaced most of its store managers, and upgraded its financial and systems capabilities. The result was that food and labor costs were quickly brought into line and the customer experience improved dramatically.

Stabilized and Grew Business: Within months of the closing, comparable restaurant sales growth reached double-digit rates and profitability climbed rapidly. With the business stabilized, Falcon began a capital investment program of reimaging existing restaurants and building new restaurants in existing markets.

Outcome
After holding the investment for more than five years and having accomplished its investment objectives, Sentinel sold Falcon to its CEO and management team in a recapitalization transaction. Under the management team Sentinel helped build, Falcon has continued to grow and today operates more than 175 restaurants.



Case studies have been selected for illustrative purposes for management teams of midmarket companies considering a partnership with Sentinel and should not be considered an offer or solicitation of services or an actual or implied endorsement of Sentinel or any security, investment, or portfolio company. The portfolio companies highlighted are not representative of all current and prior investments of Sentinel. A list and description of investments since Sentinel’s inception is available on this website.

Company Description
National Spine & Pain Centers is a provider of interventional pain management (IPM) services focused on relieving chronic, neck, back, and spine pain. IPM is a rapidly growing medical specialty whose objective is to relieve pain through advanced, minimally invasive procedures while preventing costly, invasive surgery. At the time of Sentinel's exit, NSPC supported 69 locally-branded IPM clinics in seven eastern states ranging from Connecticut to North Carolina.

Background
NSPC was founded in 1998 by three physicians who had recently completed their anesthesiology residencies and pain management fellowships. By early 2011, NSPC had established itself as a large and respected IPM group with nine clinics throughout Maryland. NSPC’s founders saw an opportunity to continue expanding their business within the highly fragmented IPM industry, both in Maryland and beyond. They sought a financial partner to help them build infrastructure to support growth and execute an acquisition strategy of like-minded practices. The founders selected Sentinel from a limited group of private equity buyers based on our proven record (i) executing growth-by-acquisition strategies in the healthcare services sector, (ii) helping companies build management and support infrastructure to facilitate rapid growth, and (iii) the chemistry and fit between Sentinel and NSPC's founding physicians.

The Opportunity

• To partner with a highly motivated group of founding physicians with a record of success and establish NSPC as the nation’s leading IPM platform

• To help founder entrepreneurs attract additional management talent and build the necessary infrastructure to support rapid growth

Accomplishments
Developed Infrastructure to Support Rapid Growth: Sentinel helped the founding physicians expand NSPC’s business development function, significantly enhancing NSPC's growth pipeline and strengthening its capabilities to open de novo locations and systematically source, execute, and integrate affiliations. NSPC also developed standardized KPIs and implemented sophisticated IT and electronic health record systems to streamline practice management and position operating managers to be proactive rather than reactive.

Bolstered NSPC's Management Team: To serve a rapidly growing group of affiliated clinics, Sentinel and the founders hired experienced healthcare services executives, including a CEO and CFO, to help bring best practices to NSPC and to free up the founders to focus on doctor relationships and new business development.

Implemented an Aggressive Growth Strategy: Shortly after closing, NSPC completed an add-on in Virginia that doubled its size and transformed NSPC into the largest, multi-state IPM practice in the nation. Over the next five years, NSPC opened 15 de novo offices and completed eight more add-on acquisitions in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Outcome
Under Sentinel's ownership, NSPC's clinic base grew more than sevenfold, from nine clinics in one state to 69 clinics in seven states, and its revenues increased five-fold. In June 2017, having accomplished our investment objectives, NSPC was sold to another private equity firm in a highly successful transaction for Sentinel and its management partners.



Case studies have been selected for illustrative purposes for management teams of midmarket companies considering a partnership with Sentinel and should not be considered an offer or solicitation of services or an actual or implied endorsement of Sentinel or any security, investment, or portfolio company. The portfolio companies highlighted are not representative of all current and prior investments of Sentinel. A list and description of investments since Sentinel’s inception is available on this website.

Company Description
Northeast Dental is a multi-unit dental service organization with affiliated clinics in seven states along the “Amtrak Corridor” stretching from Virginia to Massachusetts. NEDM provides administrative staffing, human resources, purchasing, financial, and IT support services to 65 locally-branded dental offices. NEDM's affiliated offices provide high quality dental care to 200,000 patients annually and offer a full suite of best-in-class general and specialty dental services, including general dentistry, oral hygiene, oral surgery, periodontics, pedodontics, and orthodontics.

Background
NEDM was founded by Dr. Craig Abramowitz in 2003 when he acquired a single office in New Jersey from a large publically-traded dental service organization. Dr. Abramowitz saw the opportunity to build a regional dental service organization in the Northeast, an area where the dental practice industry was highly fragmented and lagged the consolidation trends in other parts of the country. Dr. Abramowitz and his team grew NEDM through acquiring several multi-office practices in adjacent states, and by 2012, NEDM had grown to 29 affiliated offices in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. At that point, Dr. Abramowitz’s private equity partner was ready to monetize its investment and gave him the opportunity to find a new partner to help continue NEDM’s growth. Dr. Abramowitz selected Sentinel because of our established record of successfully investing in the dental services sector and the strong relationship we had built with him and NEDM’s management team.

The Opportunity

• To partner with a highly motivated executive with a record of success and establish NEDM as the leading dental service platform in the Amtrak Corridor

• To help an experienced entrepreneur attract additional management talent and build the necessary infrastructure to support rapid growth

Accomplishments
Developed Acquisition Infrastructure to Support Rapid Growth: Sentinel helped Dr. Abramowitz expand NEDM’s business development function, significantly enhancing NEDM’s acquisition pipeline and strengthening its capabilities to systematically source, execute, and integrate affiliations.

Supported an Aggressive Growth Strategy: Under Sentinel’s ownership, NEDM completed 24 new add-on acquisitions while substantially growing its future affiliation pipeline. NEDM increased its office density in existing states and expanded its footprint into the adjacent states of Connecticut, Maryland, and Massachusetts.

Strengthened NEDM’s Office Support Capabilities: To serve a rapidly growing group of affiliated dental practices, Sentinel and Dr. Abramowitz worked together to further develop NEDM’s back office infrastructure as well as add additional talent in finance, purchasing, IT, and marketing. NEDM also implemented a new, integrated IT system that simplified reporting and streamlined data analytics.

Outcome
Under Sentinel's ownership, NEDM grew its base of affiliated offices from 29 to 65, added three new adjacent states to its geographic footprint, and more than doubled its revenue and EBITDA. In January 2016, having successfully accomplished our investment objectives, NEDM was sold to strategic buyer Dental Care Alliance in a highly successful transaction. As part of the transaction, Dr. Abramowitz maintained an ownership stake in the combined business and became a senior executive at Dental Care Alliance, an organization that supports more than 230 dental practices in 12 states.



Case studies have been selected for illustrative purposes for management teams of midmarket companies considering a partnership with Sentinel and should not be considered an offer or solicitation of services or an actual or implied endorsement of Sentinel or any security, investment, or portfolio company. The portfolio companies highlighted are not representative of all current and prior investments of Sentinel. A list and description of investments since Sentinel’s inception is available on this website.

Company Description
SONNY'S is the leading manufacturer and marketer of conveyorized car wash systems and related products. Founded in 1978, SONNY'S provides equipment, parts, control systems, and chemicals to customers ranging from single-location car-wash owners to large multi-site operators. SONNY'S complements its product offering with a market-leading suite of services including site selection and design, marketing support, education, and software.

Background
Sentinel was introduced to SONNY'S by a boutique advisory firm tasked with finding a financial partner who would assist the owner and CEO in executing his vision of transforming SONNY'S into a one-stop-shop for all car wash needs. Sentinel was one of a handful of carefully selected parties approached and ultimately was chosen as the preferred partner because of our strong cultural fit with the management team, experience investing in branded manufacturing businesses, proven record of growing businesses through strategic add-on acquisitions, and capital committed to support an aggressive growth vision.

The Opportunity

• To acquire a majority interest in the leading player in conveyorized car wash systems and related products

• To partner with a world-class entrepreneur in achieving his vision to significantly extend the SONNY'S platform

• To capitalize on SONNY'S leadership position to make strategic bolt-on acquisitions to grow its suite of services and expand its geographic presence

• To participate in expected industry growth driven by the technology-driven shift to highly automated and more convenient express wash formats

Accomplishments
Accelerated Growth Through Acquisitions: Sentinel brought its acquisition experience to bear by helping the SONNY'S team, who had not made any acquisitions prior to our investment, to complete six acquisitions that:

• Added carwash chemicals, a highly attractive consumable product, to its product offering

• Deepened SONNY's offering in foaming equipment, signage, and marketing

• Added local distribution, construction, and service in the Southeast and Southwest, two key growth geographies for the car wash market

Expanded the SONNY'S Footprint to Facilitate Growth: Sentinel helped the entrepreneur grow the business by investing in a new, state-of-the-art facility on the West Coast as well as undertaking a significant expansion of SONNY'S Florida headquarters.

Exceptional Financial Performance: During Sentinel's ownership, SONNY'S sales and profitability more than doubled. Strong performance in its equipment business and successful cross selling from the add-on acquisitions fueled this growth.

Outcome
Having accomplished our investment objectives during our three-and-a-half-year ownership, Sentinel and management sold SONNY'S to another financial buyer in a highly successful transaction. The entrepreneur we backed continued to run the business under new ownership.



Case studies have been selected for illustrative purposes for management teams of midmarket companies considering a partnership with Sentinel and should not be considered an offer or solicitation of services or an actual or implied endorsement of Sentinel or any security, investment, or portfolio company. The portfolio companies highlighted are not representative of all current and prior investments of Sentinel. A list and description of investments since Sentinel's inception is available on this website.

Company Description
TranSystems is a leading provider of engineering, architectural, and design consulting solutions for U.S. transportation end markets. TranSystems plans, inspects, designs, and provides related services to some of the most complex transportation infrastructure projects in the country. With more than 1,800 engineers and technical employees working from 71 strategically located offices, TranSystems serves a diverse client base across the public and private sectors, including government, freight, transit, aviation, and intermodal end markets. TranSystems' expertise includes award-winning design and engineering work on bridges, highways, tunnels, railroads, airports, and multi-modal facilities.

Background
Before Sentinel, TranSystems was owned by a group of current and former employees and an Employee Stock Ownership Fund ("ESOF"). Over time, the ESOF's required stock redemptions constrained TranSystems' ability to grow. In 2020, TranSystems hired an investment bank to find a financial partner who could recapitalize the company and position it as a well-capitalized platform to consolidate its highly fragmented industry. Sentinel was selected as the buyer because of our relevant experience investing in engineering and consulting businesses, our record of helping similar businesses scale rapidly through accretive acquisitions, and the strong chemistry we developed with management.

The Opportunity

• To partner with TranSystems' highly experienced, committed management team and deep bench of employees, who invested meaningfully alongside Sentinel and continued to lead the business

• To acquire majority interest in a market leader with a well-established brand and a long history of success and steady growth

• To capitalize on TranSystems' leadership position by making strategic acquisitions that expanded its suite of services and geographic presence

• To participate in the transportation infrastructure industry's growth, which is being driven by heavy public spending at federal, state, and local levels

Accomplishments
Accelerated Growth Through M&A: Sentinel closely collaborated with management to build a robust acquisition pipeline. In three years, TranSystems made seven add-ons that expanded the company geographically and brought new synergistic service offerings.

Built a Strong Partnership with Management: Sentinel established a strong and productive relationship with TranSystems' management and employees. More than 280 employees, many of whom were the founders of legacy engineering firms that had combined to create the TranSystems platform, coinvested.

Exceptional Financial Performance: During Sentinel's ownership, TranSystems' sales and profits more than doubled, fueled by strong organic growth from market share gains and cross-selling from acquisitions.

Outcome
Having accomplished our investment objectives in under four years, Sentinel and management sold TranSystems through a mutually beneficial merger with an industry peer owned by another private equity firm. In a highly successful transaction for Sentinel and management, the combination created an industry leader in transportation infrastructure services and the #7 transportation firm based on Engineering News-Record's rankings, up from #21 at the time of Sentinel's investment.



Case studies have been selected for illustrative purposes for management teams of midmarket companies considering a partnership with Sentinel and should not be considered an offer or solicitation of services or an actual or implied endorsement of Sentinel or any security, investment, or portfolio company. The portfolio companies highlighted are not representative of all current and prior investments of Sentinel. A list and description of investments since Sentinel's inception is available on this website.