Fireman Capital Seeks As Much As $300M, Closes First Deal With Fund

The firm will raise as much as $300 million depending on demand. Its investors so far include family offices and high net worth individuals, and institutional investors are evaluating the fund.

Fireman Capital was founded in 2008 by former longtime Reebok International Ltd CEO Paul Fireman and his son Dan Fireman, who held a number of senior marketing positions at Reebok and was also the former CEO of Willowbend Development, manager of a $1 billion real estate portfolio, according to the firm. Since then, Fireman Capital has made several investments backed by wealthy investors. Fireman Capital invests in consumer-focused companies that generate revenues of $10 million to $150 million via growth equity and buyouts.

Fireman Capital has held its first close on the fund, Fireman Capital Partners II, which allowed it to ink its most recent deal. On Sept. 25, it announced a “significant investment” in Squatters and Wasatch, a craft beer brewer and brewpub operator in Utah.

Squatters and Wasatch were a brewpub and microbrewery, opened in 1989 and 1986, respectively, that merged in 2000. The Fireman Capital investment will help the company expand its beer selection, distribution network and marketing, according to a press release. The company, whose beers have won “17 World Beer Cup” awards, now sells beer in 12 states, according to the announcement.

“This investment opens the door to the next level for Squatters and Wasatch, and provides the financial firepower and expertise we need to meet rapidly growing demand for our beer and to reach new markets,” Peter Cole, a founding partner of Squatters, said in the statement.

Robert Spellman, an operating partner at Fireman Capital who is also a director of Au Bon Pain and a former CFO of Staples Inc. and Yankee Candle Co. Inc., will oversee the investment for Fireman Capital.

The firm has 11 investment professionals, including partners Marla Sabo, the former president of Christian Dior Americas and founder of the advisory shop Sabo Strategic Partners; and Liam Patrick, a former investment professional with Rhone Group with an investment banking background. It also has a stable of six operating partners, including Spellman as well as Stacy Madison, the founder of Stacy’s Pita Chip Co., and Hamilton South, a former chief marketing officer for Polo Ralph Lauren who also helped launch HL Group, a communications firm serving luxury, lifestyle, fashion and premium consumer brands, among other customers, according to biographical information on Fireman Capital’s Web site.