Capstone Partners Advised Charter Impact on its Sale to Mercator Search Group

Capstone Partners advised Charter Impact — a provider of accounting, financial, and business management services for charter schools and educational non-profit organizations — on its sale to search fund Mercator Search Group.

Founded in 2010, Charter Impact is a mission-driven business partner dedicated to empowering charter schools and nonprofits with professional, personalized financial management and operational support. The company’s primary service offering is outsourced bookkeeping for charter schools—CI’s operations and the bulk of its client base are located in California, which is the most robust charter ecosystem in the country. CI’s full scope of services includes accounting, budgeting, accounts payable and payroll processing, assistance with reviewing contracts, ad hoc financial analysis, support with vendor negotiations and facility financing, management of lender relationships, IT services, and student data services.

Mercator was interested in Charter Impact due to its mission-driven focus, talented management team, and unique service delivery model. Mercator plans to focus on more closely tracking operational performance, introducing marketing efforts, and national expansion.

Mercator Search Group is an investment vehicle based in Denver, CO with a sole focus to acquire, operate, and grow existing businesses. The company’s goal is to acquire and grow outstanding businesses while also including a commitment to building upon the exceptional team of existing employees, as well as fostering long-lasting partnerships within the community.

Bob Balaban, Managing Director and Head of Capstone's Business Services Investment Banking Team, said

"Charter Impact provides a growing, niche market with value-add services which led to very strong interest in the market. Spencer Styles [President, Charter Impact] created an excellent operational foundation with a strong culture and meaningful opportunities moving forward. The partnership and growth mindset of Mercator established them as the ideal partner to further increase Charter Impact’s market share while preserving the culture that has contributed to CI’s success historically. This transaction advances Capstone’s expertise in professional services, particularly the growing space of financial services."

Bob continued with, “Fueled in part by wage pressures and growing comfort with remote work environments, companies are increasingly looking towards outsourced service providers to deliver a level of experience, scalability, and specialization that is difficult to achieve in-house. Charter Impact is a successful and ideal case study on this trend in the market.”