In 1987, John K. Castle and Leonard Harlan founded Castle Harlan – a New York private equity investment firm.  The company was set up to build public funds, corporate pension funds and endowments for both high net-worth individuals and institutions.

Since its inception, Castle Harlan has been instrumental in the advancement of eight private equity funds: five domestic funds and three in Australia.  Together, they have been valued at approximately $6 billion in capital commitments. The larger picture of the firm has been a completion of 53 acquisitions totaling in excess of, $11 billion.

In 1998 – a year after the launch of Castle Harlan – Nancy J. Perry discussed the goals John K. Castle had set for himself with his new firm. In the article published in Fortune Magazine she noted how Castle had grown the Sprout Group (a venture capital operation of Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette – DLJ) into “one of the most successful in America.”  Thereafter, Castle was promoted CEO of DLJ. He used that experience for his philosophy at Castle Harlan, which he managed “almost exactly as he ran DLJ’s Sprout funds, which earned investors an average annual rate of return of over 25%.”

Although Perry wrote this article more than 2-and-a-half decades ago, Castle Harlan is still today run along the same philosophy.  The company continues to expand as DLJ Sprout funds did back then. Indeed, just the company’s sales of  United Malt and RathGibson alone have brought in returns in excess of three times their initial investment.

Following Castle Harlan’s purchase of Tensar Corporation, Don Meltzer, president and CEO of Tensar Corporation was quoted as saying: “Castle Harlan’s confidence in us is a testament to our market leadership and the Company’s tremendous prospects for growth.”

Today, Castle Harlan employs more than 42,000 employees, including a team of 13 senior executives. John Castle and the Castle Harlan leadership keep a keen eye on their investments and create investment strategies for profitable growth and solid, long-term returns.

Castle Harlan seeks out established companies in a strong market position that can achieve moderate but steady growth. This includes partnering with management and aligning the interests of the investors and management.

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