Stifel to launch additive and advanced manufacturing-focused private equity fund for US businesses
October 24, 2024
Stifel Financial Corp, St Louis, Missouri, USA, has received final federal approval for its Stifel North Atlantic AM-Forward Fund, designed to provide capital to small- and mid-sized American manufacturers in the aerospace and defence industries, with a specific focus on increasing additive and advanced manufacturing capabilities in the domestic supply chain.
“We are pleased to receive this license from the SBA,” said Victor Nesi, Stifel Co-President. “In collaboration with our strategic partners, we are proud to give America’s emerging small businesses the capital and strategic support they need to advance innovation that supports our supply chain, creates domestic jobs, amplifies manufacturing capacity, an,d importantly, increases national security.”
As part of the final approval process, Steifel’s fund has earned a Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) licence from the Small Business Administration in partnership with the US Department of Defense under the SBIC Critical Technology (SBICCT) initiative. With this structure, the fund is eligible for SBA leverage, which can supplement the amount of private capital raised, thereby expanding investment reach. Earlier in the year, the fund was the first applicant to receive initial ‘green light’ approval to actively raise private capital under the SBICCT initiatives.
The fund aims to use a range of financing structures targeted to small businesses’ specific needs. The initial funding includes significant capital commitments from industry-leading contractors, including Lockheed Martin, GE Aerospace, and ASTM International.
“Small- and medium-sized manufacturers are at the core of ASTM International, and we are excited that our global standards and solutions will serve as an innovative tool in connecting the diverse supply chains of our aerospace and defence industries,” commented Andy Kireta, ASTM International President.
Capital from the fund will connect manufacturers with leading system integrators to meet the growing industry demand for low-volume, high-mix components. Additionally, the fund’s investments will enable manufacturers to acquire new fixed assets, expand their working capital and achieve aerospace and defence certification and qualification.
The fund was started to support the White House’s AM Forward initiative, which was created in 2022 to improve the competitiveness of America’s SME manufacturers and enhance domestic supply chain activity.
The Applied Science and Technology Research Organization of America (ASTRO America) — a not-for-profit, non-partisan research institute and think tank and leader in the AM Forward initiative — selected Stifel as the financial partner and North Atlantic Capital Management, a Stifel Company, to manage the fund based on its middle-market investment experience and over thirty years of managing SBIC funds. The Fund’s Technical Advisory Board, a partnership between the fund and its strategic investors, will be led by Neal Orringer, president of ASTRO America and former Director of Manufacturing at the US Department of Defense.
