New shop Shoreline finds first platform

Happy Monday!

Hope your week starts out well.

Have you noticed that recruiting has become an incredibly tough job in recent years. I’ve never had such issues filling vacancies. I suppose if there is one downside to a strong market, it would be finding talent. Seems everyone has a job and is happy in that job.

Then I noticed this WSJ story about manufacturing companies offering bonuses and cash for moving expenses to find workers. “We are in an era right now that is unlike anything I’ve seen in 25 years as far as trying to recruit people,” Julie Scannell, G.H. Tool & Mold’s head of human resources, told WSJ. “We are having to really track them down a little bit and schmooze them more than we used to.”

Are you seeing this in the PE/VC world? What are your tips n’ tricks for finding and enticing top talent? Reach me at cwitkowsky@buyoutsinsider.com.

New firm: Newly formed shop Shoreline Equity Partners made its first platform investment in Mr. Greens, a produce and dairy distributor based in Miami, according to PE Hub’s new M&A reporter Eva Fedderly. Mr. Greens expects to continue its fast pace of growth through further consolidation of the food distribution market, the story said.

SunTrust Robinson Humphrey’s Michael Stollmack brought the deal to Mike Hand, Shoreline co-founder and managing partner. The firm expects to continue growing the company through M&A, Hand said.

“Shoreline has a couple of add-ons for Mr. Greens that are getting very close,” Hand told Fedderly. Check out the story here.

Shoreline, meanwhile, closed its first fund on $300 million Jan. 7. Hand and Peter Franz launched the firm to invest in U.S. lower middle market companies with a particular focus on companies in the southeast. Before Shoreline, Hand co-founded and co-led PNC Riverarch Capital, PNC Financial Services Group balance sheet PE strategy. Franz formerly worked at Florida Capital Partners as co-managing partner. Hand and Franz are joined by Ian Garland and Zachary Mittelmark, both who previous worked with Hand at PNC Riverarch Capital.

More new: Speaking of new firms, we have another firm formed by former executives from Marlin Equity. Teleo Capital, a Los Angeles-based invsetor in lower middle market companies in software and tech, healthcare IT, business services and industrials, that launched in 2018. Its founding partners include George Kase, who worked at Marlin for more than a decade, writes Kirk Falconer. Other founders include Andy Martinez, a former Marlin principal, and Robb Warwick, who headed Marlin operations for more than 12 years. In August, Teleo added Matt Oehlmann, a former Marlin vice president.

Teleo is targeting $200 million, according to a Form D fundraising document. Check out the story here.

Top Scoops
The opportunity zone program saw a remarkable uptick in investment as 2019 closed out, and fund managers appear to believe the program is finally showing momentum, writes Justin Mitchell on Buyouts. Check it out.

WindRose Health Investors completed the sale of a majority of the assets of portfolio company Trust Healthcare Consulting Services. WindRose sold the assets to a healthcare joint venture between Carlyle Group and Cannae Holdings. Check it out.

That’s it! Have a great start to the week. Hit me up with tips n’ gossip, trends, feedback or whatever at cwitkowsky@buyoutsinsider.com, on Twitter or find me on LinkedIn.