Navagant, LLC (“Navagant”), a leading middle-market investment bank, advised Legacy Swim Group (“Legacy”), the largest combined franchisee of a leading swim school brand in the U.S., on its growth investment and recapitalization with Main Street Capital Corporation (“Main Street”, NYSE: MAIN).
Legacy operates 44 swim school locations across 10 states — Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. The Company offers best-in-class swim programs designed for children ages 4 months to 12 years, promoting confidence, safety, and skill development in the water.
As part of the recapitalization with Main Street, Legacy simultaneously completed the merger of several of its most successful franchisees prior to close, while also completing the acquisition of a five-school, Texas-based franchisee. The merger brings together a handful of the most established and well-respected brand franchise groups under the unified Legacy platform — uniting a leadership team with a proven operational track record to create the premier swim school platform both within and outside the brand network.
The recapitalization with Main Street Capital further strengthens Legacy’s ability to enact its growth roadmap, which centers on synergistic opportunities in existing locations through the sharing of best practices and geographic de novo expansion. The investment will enable Legacy to capitalize on its near- and long-term growth strategy while maintaining the highest quality of swim education and youth enrichment programs — advancing its mission of empowering children through transformative early childhood experiences, with a relentless commitment to swim safety and to building every child’s confidence both in and out of the pool.
This investment will allow us to accelerate growth across key markets and expand access to high-quality swim education. Main Street Capital’s partnership and resources will help us continue delivering best-in-class swim instruction and support our goal of greatly expanding our school count in the coming years.
— Mike Priest, CEO, Legacy Swim GroupThis transaction marks an exciting new chapter for Legacy as we continue to expand our impact and reach across the U.S. We’re thrilled to partner with Main Street Capital to accelerate our growth and strengthen our commitment to families and communities nationwide. The Navagant team was an excellent advisor throughout this process, and we’re grateful for their support in helping bring this partnership to life.
— Tommy Fisher, CFO, Legacy Swim GroupThis partnership represents a defining moment for Legacy and the franchise system. By uniting two best-in-class operators and partnering with Main Street Capital to bring in the first institutional capital, Legacy is poised to expand its reach and deepen its impact on youth enrichment and water safety education. We are proud to have advised such a dedicated team and look forward to seeing the continued growth and success that lies ahead.
— Jeff Bache, Director, NavagantAbout Main Street Capital Corporation
Main Street is a principal investment firm that primarily provides customized long-term debt and equity capital solutions to lower middle market companies and debt capital to private companies owned by or in the process of being acquired by a private equity fund. Main Street’s portfolio investments are typically made to support management buyouts, recapitalizations, growth financings, refinancings, and acquisitions of companies that operate in diverse industry sectors.
Main Street seeks to partner with entrepreneurs, business owners, and management teams and generally provides customized “one-stop” debt and equity financing solutions within its lower middle market investment strategy. Visit mainstcapital.com for more information.
About Navagant
Navagant is a middle-market investment bank serving entrepreneurs, family-businesses, large corporations, and financial sponsors seeking to optimize their transaction outcomes. Our sell-side advisory services include mergers and acquisitions, majority and minority recapitalizations, management buyouts and corporate carve-outs. With a conscious-capital mission and a team of experienced investment banking professionals, Navagant delivers tailored solutions to help organizations unlock value and achieve life-changing outcomes.
For more information, please visit www.navagant.com.