History

Formed in 1997, Merchants Partners combined the operations of Holl & Company and The Merchants Group Ltd., a private equity firm founded by Robert Chappell in 1974. Over the next ten years Merchants Partners made investments in logistics, industrial and digital media companies and by 2007 the total value of sold companies exceeded $675 million.

In 2008 Merchants Partners began focusing on international trade opportunities in China, Latin America and the Middle East, with an emphasis on projects in the global maritime industry.

In 2017, Holl & Company began a series of new projects under its own moniker, including imported sparkling wine and mixed-use real estate development.

Past Projects

Venture Capital

Lencor International Incorporated

A manufacturer of IBM clone disk packs. Provided equity capital and later sold to Memorex Corporation.

California Linear Devices, Inc.

A high-performance linear motion control devices company. Provided the business planning and seed capital for the company in 1998. The company was sold to Moog Corporation in 2008.

Arius3D Inc.

A world-leading 3D color laser scanning company. Provided first round equity capital to this Canadian company.

Corporate Finance – M&A Advisory and Investment Banking

British Petroleum

Advised on its purchase of the LNG tanker assets of Gotaas-Larsen Shipping Ltd., which later became Golar LNG.

Haskel International Inc.

Managed the privatization of this formerly publicly traded company.

KingTec/XinXing

Advised China's sixth largest state-owned enterprise regarding a ductile iron pipe manufacturer acquisition in the United States.

Private Equity

24/7 Real Media Inc. (NASDAQ:TFSM)

By 1999 the No. 2 internet advertising company in the US. In 2002, after the dot-com crash, we acquired a 40% stake in the company and provided additional financing in 2003-2004. The company was sold to WPP Group in 2007 and is today known as Xaxis.

Photoworks Inc. (NASDAQ: PHTW)

Successor to Seattle Film Works, the leading mail-order film processing company in the US during the 1990s. Acquired senior outstanding debt in late 2003 and took control. Invested additional capital in 2004-2006. Sold in 2008 to American Greetings Inc. Company subsequently acquired by Shutterfly in 2011.

Varsity Logistics Inc.

Logistics software company. Acquired in 2000 from former IBM executives. Installed new management and quadrupled annual cash flow. Sold to Toronto-based Constellation Software Inc. in 2007.

Asset Management

Bateman Eichler, Hill Richards Inc.

Co-founded the Bateman Eichler, Hill Richards's Pension Consulting Group.

Sumitomo Bank of California

Advised in the establishment of the Sumitomo Bank Investment Management Group and subsequently co-chaired the Group.

International Trade and Commerce

Port authority of El Salvador (CEPA)

Managed the acquisition, finance and delivery of port cranes to El Salvador’s La Union container terminal.

Abu Dhabi Terminals (a Dubai World Ports company)

Managed the acquisition, re-sale and delivery of a fleet of port trucks from American President Lines in the United States to Abu Dhabi Terminals.

Sea Castle Inc. (Honduras)

Managed the rescue and return of several hundred high-value containers that were hijacked by locals from Dole Foods in the Port of Honduras.

Commercial Real Estate

Maui Hyatt and Waikiki Hyatt

Participated in original investment and later sale to Japanese investors.

Other

Maranello California

Owned and operated this private classic Ferrari dealership and club.