Ulupono Initiative

About The Fund

The Ulupono Initiative is a private equity firm located at 11766 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 850, Los Angeles, California. They specialize in providing structured capital solutions, operating as Caltius Structured Capital. With over 28 years of experience and $1.5 billion across 88 deals, they focus on serving the middle market companies in North America. Their investment thesis revolves around providing junior debt and minority equity to lower middle market companies, notably those in need of liquidity events or growth capital, with junior capital ranging from $7 million to $50 million. Founded in 1997 with the purpose of filling a capital gap, Ulupono Initiative remains an independent, employee-owned firm dedicated to helping business owners achieve their goals by offering tailored and flexible capital solutions that fit the unique needs of each business. They are relationship-driven and consider capital as non-commodity by recognizing the uniqueness of every investment opportunity. As a patient investor, they support their portfolio companies through various business cycles. Providing liquidity without ceding control, they are adept at structuring non-sponsored deals that address business owners' liquidity requirements. The firm has evolved over the years, visibly through a name change from Mezzanine to Structured Capital, reflecting the diversity in the security structures provided. They've expanded their team and increased transaction sizes from an initial average of $4 million per deal in their first fund to the current $7 million to $50 million per deal in their sixth fund. They've also added an SBIC to their fifth fund. Ulupono Initiative invests across various sectors, including Energy and CleanTech, but specific to their expertise are Expansion, MBO/LBO, Acquisition, Recapitalization, and Corporate Divestiture strategies.