Education Technology
This new focus on investing in students, professionals, and our global workforce is rapidly transforming and redefining the education industry in countless positive ways. Learners at every level of education, from pre-school to college and skills-based to corporate learning, are adopting innovative solutions faster than many other industries. Education technology is now more than a $250 billion dollar business. Advanced content creation, digital delivery, skills/competency targeted education are driving rapid skills and productivity gains coupled with powerful analytics and demonstrable outcomes customers can affectively easily measure its positive impact. We believe Education Technology is positioned for stable, long-term growth.
Areas of Focus
• Authoring Tools/Content Development
• Corporate Learning & Development
• Skills-Based Training
• Assessment & Evaluation
• Learning Platforms
• Professional Certifications
Investment Criteria
EBITDA:$2 – $10 million
Investment:$10 – $50 million
Geography:North America
What We Offer
Patient Capital:No defined hold period allowing assets to dictate investment
Partnership with Management:BERKS believes that management teams should share in the financial success of our investments and seeks to align their
Shared Resources:Resources to provide Technology, HR, and Accounting support, if needed
Doug Krebs
Doug Krebs is Operating Partner for BERKS Group, responsible for investments and operations in our Education Technology business. He recently spent 4 years at Ascend Learning responsible for their Health and Wellness businesses. His career included 14 years with Cerner Corporation including being President of Cerner Global based in Europe and a member of the executive cabinet. Earlier in his career he spent 15 years with IBM in a variety of executive positions. Doug is active in mentoring entrepreneurial organizations including sitting on several Board of Directors and was an executive at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation which is focused on global entrepreneurship. Doug’s hobbies include road biking, boating and travel.
“High-Value” Manufacturing
As our economy continues to advance technologically, there is an increasing demand for high precision products. Manufacturing processes are becoming more sophisticated – we believe that companies that combine these sophisticated manufacturing processes with superior technical operating expertise will establish themselves as “high-value” manufactures for their customers. These companies’ technical proficiency allows their business to be extremely nimble, serve multiple end-markets, and have very stable customer relationships.
Investment Criteria
Enterprise Value:$10 – $100 million
EBITDA:$2 – $20 million
Gross Margin:Greater than 30%
Geography:North America
Competitive Characteristics
• Strong recurring revenue
• Entrenched customer relationships
• High engineering content
• Proprietary processes or technology
• Pricing power
• Niche market leadership
• Mission critical products
What We Offer
Patient Capital:No defined hold period allowing assets to dictate investment
Partnership with Management:BERKS believes that management teams should share in the financial success of our investments and seeks to align their
Shared Resources:Resources to provide Technology, HR, and Accounting support, if needed
Jay Longbottom
Jay Longbottom is Operating Partner for BERKS Group, responsible for investments and operations in our manufacturing platform. Jay was most recently the CEO of Robert Family Holdings (RFH), a global, diversified manufacturer of highly engineered products. Prior to RFH, Jay was at Haldex for 10 years, eventually becoming CEO. Jay’s global experience includes 14 years at SKF, the world’s leading bearing company. Most of the time was spent in Europe, living in Italy and Germany. Jay’s work at both SKF and Haldex include start-ups and joint ventures in India and China. Jay serves as on outside director of several manufacturing companies. Jay likes to stay active, has completed several triathlons; and sails and skis when the opportunity arises.
Technology Infrastructure
The rapid advances in today’s technology still require infrastructure to speed data and information across the country and around the world. We are seeking opportunities that support this vertical specifically in fiber networks, software, managed services, and wireless or rural broadband through the United States.
Areas of Focus
• Service Enablement
• Rural Broadband
• Application Hosting
• Fiber Networks
Investment Criteria
Enterprise Value:$10 – $100 million
EBITDA:$2 – $20 million
Gross Margin:Greater than 30%
Geography:North America
What We Offer
Patient Capital:No defined hold period allowing assets to dictate investment
Partnership with Management:BERKS believes that management teams should share in the financial success of our investments and seeks to align their
Shared Resources:Resources to provide Technology, HR, and Accounting support, if needed
Bill Severn
Bill Severn is an Executive Vice President at BERKS Group. He leads the BERKS Group’s business development efforts in technology infrastructure. Bill has deep industry experience in fiber networks, cable, broadband, data storage and cloud services. He was on the board of OnLine Tech until the family sold it in early 2018. Bill was COO of NPG Cablevision until 2011 when the company sold to SuddenLink. He enjoys being very active in the community serving on the board of 7 non-profit organizations over the past 15 years and currently the chamber of commerce and YMCA. Bill is a proud K-State Wildcat. He is the father of three grown children. He enjoys golf, fishing and hunting as often as possible.
Food & Agribusiness
Consumers are increasingly invested in their diets – creating a growing, $168 billion market for healthy and functional foods. There is a traffic jam in every supermarket aisle as consumers are obsessed with reading the labels of the food they purchase – What’s in it?What’s NOT in it? Is it good for me? Is it good for the environment? Where did it come from? We have spent our careers asking and answering these questions and believe our combination of patient, “hard working” capital with deep industry relationships is the model for building great Health & Wellness companies.
Areas of Focus
• Functional Foods
• Organic & Natural Foods
• Healthy & Functional Ingredients
• Food Safety
Investment Criteria
Enterprise Value:$10 – $100 million
EBITDA:$2 – $10 million
Ownership:Prefer Majority
Geography:North America
What We Offer
Patient Capital:No defined hold period allowing assets to dictate investment
Partnership with Management:BERKS believes that management teams should share in the financial success of our investments and seeks to align their
Shared Resources:Resources to provide Technology, HR, and Accounting support, if needed
Dennis Krause
Dennis Krause is Operating Partner for BERKS Group, responsible for investments and operations Food & Agribusiness. Krause was founder and CEO of Simply Essentials, LLC. – an innovative producer of USDA approved healthier proteins. Prior to leading Simply Essentials, he was Managing Director – Industry Leader for GE Capital where he provided deep industry leadership in evaluating and closing complex debt and equity structures for GE Capital’s $18+ Billion portfolio exposure in Food, Beverage and Agribusiness. His more than 25 years experience as a senior executive in the food sector include starting, operating and growing multiple new food plants with a combined market value in excess of $3 Billion. He has undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Kansas, in business administration and finance. A proud father of four grown children, he enjoys an active lifestyle of biking, walking, golf and great food that pairs with a great glass of wine from time to time.