Blue Wolf seeks to invest responsibly, act with transparency, and lead by example. Whether in a spinoff of a corporate division, the restructuring of a nonprofit entity, a merger of entrepreneurial businesses, the transition of a family owned company to institutional ownership, or rebuilding a company emerging from bankruptcy, we strive to lead our portfolio companies through transformational change to build a foundation for strategic and sustained growth.
As active, engaged owners, we partner with strong management teams to achieve lead operational excellence, and strategic clarity, and to implement an approach to investing that seeks to create value by recognizing our workforce and communities as important stakeholders.
Both in structuring an investment and in working with management after the investment is made, Blue Wolf brings a collaborative approach to strategy and structure.
We integrate new approaches to regulatory and environmental compliance into a company’s business plan. In addition to conventional business relationships, we have deep experience with innovative partnerships: we have created successful alliances between our portfolio companies and government agencies as well as trade associations, nonprofit organizations and unions. Our experience managing collective bargaining, pension, environmental and regulatory issues – and our track record of close collaboration with our portfolio companies – is critical to our ability to create successful outcomes.
Blue Wolf doesn’t invest passively in a business and rely on market fundamentals to realize a positive outcome. We partner with companies to guide transformational change in environments characterized by both risk and opportunity – because transformation is a skill.
It requires carefully defining a company’s current state and having a vision for the future with a clear strategy to chart the course. Our investment team partners closely with seasoned operating partners so we can be an effective partner to management. We bring well developed tools to manage governance, cost structure, strategy and operations, as well as employee and external relationships.
Forging a constructive relationship between employees and management isn’t just good for business – it’s the right thing to do.
Blue Wolf has extensive relationships with the leadership of international, national and regional unions. We have participated in the successful negotiation of dozens of collective bargaining agreements, including agreements reached in the context of change-of-control transactions. Many of these agreements contained profit-sharing, productivity-enhancement, ESOP, and similar provisions. Some have been in bankruptcy or pre-bankruptcy situations.
The participation of federal, state and local governments and governmental agencies often means unpredictable cash flows. This can lead to unusual financing challenges. We believe we have the experience to grow businesses in the context of these challenges.