CEO and co-founder of Tortoise Kevin Birzer tells MFWire that he is "looking for access to capital" to explore growth possibilities for the company.

Kevin Birzer Tortoise CEO and Co-Founder

Earlier this month Tortoise publicly confirmed that they're considering a potential sale of a majority stake of the Kansas-based company. The firm, founded in 2002, has 140 employees with approximately $20 billion in assets under advisement as of May 31, 2017, and is owned by Mariner Holdings LLC, a wealth and asset management company. Among other things, Tortoise offers mutual funds and ETFs.

Tortoise is looking for a “buyer with deep pockets and lots of capital," says Birzer. Tortoise has numerous options going forward, like using the extra capital from a sale to make larger investments to start new funds; Birzer says that it will take "$50 to $100 million to launch a new fund." The company may also "co-invest the money" if they want to move towards a private equity direction, and will be exploring other "acquisition possibilities."

Birzer commends Marty Bicknell, CEO at Mariner Holdings. "Mariner specializes in growing wealth, and there are lots of opportunities for [Bicknell] in the advisory business and wealth management," says Birzer. "Marty as a seller will take care of the company looking forward."  

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