LongueVue Capital Completes Investment in Soho Studio Corp.
Now Rebranded as TileBar
New Orleans, Louisiana – June 25, 2019 – LongueVue Capital (“LVC”) is pleased to announce it has partnered with Eli Mechlovitz, the Founder and CEO of Soho Studio Corp. and TileBar (collectively “Soho” or “the Company”), to acquire the Company and provide capital for growth. Soho is a leading provider of high quality and price-competitive mosaic, tile, and specialty interior products.
From its New York, NY headquarters, Soho is disrupting the highly fragmented and staid flooring and wall coverings industry with unparalleled innovation, sophistication, and customer service. Its robust and predominantly proprietary product portfolio is sold to residential and commercial (e.g. hotel, restaurant, office) contractors, architects, design firms, developers, and individual consumers through the U.S. via a variety of channels, including its NYC showroom, a network of ~1,200 wholesale stores, a sizeable and growing sales team, and its TileBar.com e-commerce platform. The Company has experienced rapid growth since its founding in 2006 and currently employs more than 150 full-time employees. Soho operates out of its 24,000 square foot headquarters in New York, an 8,000 square foot flagship TileBar showroom in New York’s Flatiron District, and a 270,000 square foot distribution facility in New Jersey.
“We are excited to welcome Soho as the sixth platform investment for our latest fund, LVC III. We love partnering with entrepreneur-owned businesses that have demonstrated both strong growth and exceptional potential,” said Rick Rees, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of LVC. “We share management’s vision for market disruption and leadership and look forward to partnering with Eli and the entire Soho team to professionalize and scale the business as it enters its next phase of growth.”
“Soho is a proven market disruptor. From its proprietary, on-trend designs to its omnichannel approach, Soho is building more than just a specialty flooring and wall coverings business; they’re building a lifestyle brand,” added Ryan Nagim, Partner at LVC. “Leveraging decades of experience and capitalizing on shifts in consumer and builder preferences for ceramic tile and stone, the Soho management team has created a unique value proposition around high-quality, differentiated, and competitively priced products sold through innovative channels and supported by superior customer service. We believe that with a committed partner, Soho can further expand its portfolio and reach to become a top-tier specialty interiors company.”
“On behalf of the Soho family, we are thrilled to welcome our new partners, LongueVue Capital, especially given the firm’s proven track record of supporting and growing businesses at inflection points similar to that of Soho,” commented Eli Mechlovitz, Founder and CEO of Soho. “This partnership is great news for our employees and most notably for our customers, due to the LVC team’s deep understanding and appreciation of the unique characteristics that separate Soho from our competitors. As we continue our tradition of delivering exceptional service and high-quality products, we now have increased access to strategic and capital resources that will enhance our ability to exceed our customers’ expectations.”
Cadence Bank, N.A. provided senior debt financing in support of the transaction.
LVC’s legal counsel was provided by Jones Walker LLP and Norton Rose Fulbright LLP. Soho’s legal counsel was provided by Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP.
To learn more information about Soho Studio Corp., TileBar and the Company’s products, visit www.tilebar.com.
About LongueVue Capital:
Founded in 2001, LongueVue Capital is a New Orleans-based private equity firm that focuses on providing human capital, financial capital, and a skill set built upon a successful 18-year track record of partnering with entrepreneurs and management teams to drive value creation in middle market companies. Having managed over $500 million of capital spanning three funds coupled with 150 years of combined operating and investing experience, our team is the ideal partner for middle market companies at inflection points and seeking to maximize value.
Our opportunistic investment strategy provides the flexibility to partner with attractive businesses across a variety of industries and situations, and we tailor transaction structures to meet the company and stakeholders’ objectives. While we are selective with our investment strategy, we target growth-oriented companies with scalable, sustainable business models and exceptional leadership teams.
Our proactive, hands-on approach enables us to be thoughtful stewards of our portfolio companies and trusted and dependable strategic partners to all stakeholders. Together with our entrepreneur and management team partners, we help create superior value for our portfolio companies and investors.
To learn more about LongueVue Capital, please visit our website at www.lvcpartners.com.
For inquiries, please contact ccox@lvcpartners.com or call 504.293.3600.