CAPCO Programs

According to a press release posted on Fox Business, Nestle is buying Sweet Leaf:

After three years, Catterton Partners has finally quenched its thirst for iced tea.

The consumer-focused private equity firm is selling Sweet Leaf Tea Co. to Nestle SA’s (NSRGY, NESN.VX) Nestle Waters North America Inc., which had been an investor and partner for over two years.

The Austin-based company had brought its revenue to $53 million in 2010 from under $10 million when Catterton first got involved back in 2008, investing $18 million. Freestone Partners LLC was an earlier backer, investing in Sweet Leaf in 2006 and 2007.
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Through the Texas CAPCO Program, Advantage Capital Partners is providing $3.3 million to Hospice Partners, which will help retain jobs and encourage additional growth:

Advantage Capital Partners, a leading venture capital and small business finance firm, has provided $3.3 million in financing to Hospice Partners of Texas. The funding, raised in connection with the Texas Certified Capital Company (CAPCO) program, will allow the company to expand through the acquisition of Alamo Hospice, maintaining 70 full-time staff and a dozen part-time staff in the San Antonio region. Further growth is expected in the coming months, as Hospice Partners intends to expand Alamo Hospice and create additional jobs.

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Dennis Murphree of Murphree Venture Partners in Texas participated in the state’s CAPCO Program in 2002:

Venture capitalist Dennis Murphree has joined a small band of fund managers in the country who participate in a little-known but rapidly expanding program called CAPCO.

A handful of states have passed legislation to create programs called CAPCO, an acronym for certified capital companies. These programs spawn investment funds, some as large as $175 million, that are designed to spur economic development.

The program itself is complicated, but it wasn’t difficult for Murphree and his partners to decide they wanted to be involved.

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Through the Texas CAPCO program, Advantage Capital Partners has again invested in a local small business:

Advantage Capital Partners, a leading venture capital and small business finance firm, has provided $2.1 million in financing to Healthcare Plus Supplies, Inc., a newly formed durable medical equipment (DME) supplier that will provide quality products and services to local hospices and their patients. The funding, raised in connection with the Texas Certified Capital Company (CAPCO) program, will allow the company to create 17 jobs in the Dallas area and purchase the necessary equipment to proceed with expansion plans. Further growth is expected in the coming months, with the addition of two warehouses in Terrell and Greenville.

“The DME industry has been growing at a rapid pace, and Advantage Capital is pleased to be involved in this emerging sector as an investment partner to Healthcare Plus Supplies,” said Les Alexander, senior vice president at Advantage Capital. “This Texas CAPCO program funding will create immediate jobs in Dallas, with more growth expected as the company expands.”

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Small businesses in Texas look to their state’s CAPCO program:

In this time of unprecedented job losses, we are in need of economic development programs that can create jobs in the state of Texas.

When thinking of how best to address this problem, it’s important to note that according to the United States Small Business Administration, small businesses have created 60 to 80 percent of the net new jobs in the U.S. over the past dozen years.

Small businesses, however, are finding it tougher than ever in today’s lending environment to raise the necessary capital to sustain and grow their businesses. In fact, the National Venture Capital Association reports that venture investing in early-stage businesses is down 71 percent over the last 12 months. This has created a funding “gap” that is preventing the growth of small businesses, and subsequently hurting job creation.

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Texas CAPCO program began in 2005:

To improve access to much needed capital for small and early stage businesses in the State, the Texas Legislature approved legislation (in 2005 and reauthorized in 2007) to target investment in small and early stage companies. The Texas CAPCO Act provides $200 million of investment capital for businesses located in the State. A portion of the investment is targeted to a Strategic Investment Area, which is a county that receives special investment status for the CAPCO Program and other programs as well. A low-income community receives special status for the CAPCO Program and for federal programs.

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Under the Texas CAPCO program, Advantage Capital Partners has made millions of dollars available to local businesses:

Advantage Capital Partners has raised approximately $23 million under the Texas Certified Capital Company (CAPCO) program for investment in qualified small businesses.

To manage the new Texas fund, Advantage has established an office in northwest Austin led by Timothy Cockshutt, managing director, and Damon Rawie, principal.

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The Texas CAPCO program is distributing millions of dollars to venture capital firms:

The State of Texas last month began distributing a new round of $200 million in state-backed venture capital to nine firms aiming to invest it in early-stage Texas companies.

Texas is one of at least 10 states that uses so-called certified capital companies, or capcos, to foster business development.

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Small businesses can turn to their local CAPCO programs for funding:

Fostering new businesses in your county (with their new tax revenue potential) is obviously a much better way to deal with state budget cutbacks and dwindling local revenues than increasing taxes or cutting services or both. And it doesn’t necessarily take a new automobile assembly plant in your community to turn the revenue slide.

For most counties, small businesses are the economic engines for their communities. The National Association of Small Business Owners reports that small businesses employ 51 percent of private sector workers; provide two-thirds to three-quarters of the new jobs; and represent 96 percent of all exporters of goods.

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Texas Governor Rick Perry’s economic development initiatives, such as the CAPCO program, are receiving support from the Texas Coalition for Capital:

The Texas Coalition for Capital expressed support for the economic development initiatives outlined by Governor Rick Perry in his State of the State address to the Texas Legislature and the people of Texas on Tuesday

“Governor Perry has been the strongest Chief Executive in the nation in terms of supporting economic development and job growth. The proposals he outline today will help keep Texas the best place in America to do business, and we certainly support that objective,” said Coalition president Craig Casselberry.

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