TCF Capital Funding and Route 2 Capital Partners provided debt capital to fund Latitude 27 Capital’s purchase of JK Jewelry (JK Findings), a designer, manufacturer and wholesaler of jewelry components, also known as findings.
“It was a pleasure to work with both TCF and Route 2 Capital Partners,” Jim Westman, managing director of Latitude27 Capital, said. “The principals in both of these organizations are industry veterans with long track records of success in financing middle market transactions.”
John Kaupp, the founder and CEO of JK Findings, will retire as CEO and remain as an equity investor and board member in the newly formed JK Acquisition. Joni Lucas, who has held the combined positions of CFO and COO of JK Findings for the last 14 years, will succeed Kaupp as CEO.
“We see clear strategic growth paths in both product and market expansion that will fuel the future growth and success of JK Findings,” Tim Tevens, managing director of Latitude 27 Capital, said. “Given the size and breadth of this niche market and our long-term expectations, we believe with this acquisition we will achieve out-sized returns for our investors.”
JK Findings was founded in 1975 as a wholesaler of jewelry findings, and is headquartered in Rochester, NY, with a sales office in Hong Kong.
“I am pleased to lead this company to its next phase of growth and work closely with our new owners, Latitude 27 Capital,” Lucas said. “Jim and Tim bring a wealth of knowledge to further advance the creativity, operational efficiencies and strong customer focus of our JK Findings team, and to drive the opportunity for even greater expansion. Given Jim and Tim’s leadership experience with larger and more global manufacturing companies, I believe they will help us achieve our long-term, global growth goals.”
“We are pleased to be partnering with Joni and her team at JK Findings to continue the excellent work that John Kaupp began many years ago,” Westman said. “We are also excited that John has invested in the new company and that we will continue to benefit from his many years of industry experience through his service on our board of directors.”
Latitude 27 Capital is a private investment firm that supports small and middle market companies.
