Keystone Solutions Group Raises Funding From Charter Growth Capital Fund

By Dan Anderson ● Oct 10, 2019
  • The Charter Growth Capital Fund (CGCF) announced it invested in its first portfolio company: Keystone Solutions Group

The Charter Growth Capital Fund (CGCF) has announced it has invested in its first portfolio company: Keystone Solutions Group. The targeted $100 million fund had launched earlier this year by Grand Rapids, Michigan based investment bank and capital management firm Charter Capital Partners.

The investment in Keystone is promoting the fund’s objective of investing $1 million to $5 million of mezzanine debt/equity capital into lower middle-market companies in the Great Lakes region for supporting growth, succession, or recapitalization.

“This capital investment enables us to continue our commitment to innovation and grow our presence in new markets and geographies that are hotbeds of growth in the medical device field,” said Jim Medsker, President of Keystone. “Charter has a long record of investing in growing businesses in both Michigan and medical technology. We look forward to working with the Charter team to continue the success of Keystone.”

Keystone — which is based in Kalamazoo, Michigan — offers end-to-end solutions for highly engineered medical devices from product development to contract manufacturing. And CGCF’s investment recapitalized the company and provided growth capital for key marketing initiatives and operational improvements. 

“Keystone is one of the few holistic providers of both product development and contract manufacturing services for medical devices, providing value across multiple points on the product supply chain,” added Charter Managing Partner Hector Bultynck. “We are excited about their growth opportunities and look forward to translating that growth into meaningful returns for our investors.”

The current management will continue operating the business while the Charter team is going to spearhead enhancements in processes and governance, including representation on the company’s board of directors by Charter President and Managing Partner John Kerschen.

“As fund managers and investment bankers, we have known Jim professionally for almost 10 years and have watched him grow the business with impressive results,” said Kerschen. “We are thrilled to provide Keystone with the additional capital, tools and support to accelerate its growth.”