Heartland Industrial Partners was a

private equity Private equity (PE) is stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public; instead it is offered to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the co ...

firm founded in 1999 focused on industry consolidation and

growth capital Growth capital (also called expansion capital and growth equity) is a type of private equity investment, usually a minority interest, in relatively mature companies that are looking for capital to expand or restructure operations, enter new markets ...

investments in middle-market industrial companies. The firm, which was based in

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, terminated its registration with the SEC in 2013.

History

The firm was founded in 1999 by former Reagan budget director David Stockman, Timothy Leuliette and Daniel Tredwell "Collins & Aikman seeks to emerge from bankruptcy," ''

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'' article by Jeff Bennett, appearing in ''

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'' of Stamford and (identical version, perhaps with changes by the local editor in the common business section for both papers) in the '' Greenwich Time'' on September 5, 2006, page A7, ''

'' In 2001, the firm completed fundraising for its first and only

private equity fund A private equity fund (abbreviated as PE fund) is a collective investment scheme used for making investments in various equity (and to a lesser extent debt) securities according to one of the investment strategies associated with private equity. ...

with approximately $1.4 billion of investor commitments.

Collins & Aikman

In 2005, it was reported that Stockman handed control of the fund, Heartland Industrial Partners, over to his partners following his resignation as chairman of Collins & Aikman, which was a major investment for the fund that ended in bankruptcy. On March 26, 2007, federal prosecutors in

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indicted Stockman in "a scheme ... to defraud Collins & Aikman's investors, banks and creditors by manipulating C&A's reported revenues and earnings." At the same time, the

Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...

brought civil charges against Stockman related to actions he took while

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of Collins & Aikman. Stockman suffered a personal financial loss, estimated at $13 million, along with losses suffered by as many as 15,000 Collins & Aikman employees worldwide. Stockman said in a statement posted on his law firm's Web site that the company's collapse was the consequence of an industry melt-down, not fraud. In August 2008, a trial date was set but on January 9, 2009, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced that it did not intend to prosecute Stockman in this case. Other investments in the Heartland portfolio included auto parts suppliers Metaldyne and TriMas as well as Springs Industries,SPRINGS INDUSTRIES, A MAKER OF SHEETS, TO GO PRIVATE

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, April 26, 2001 a manufacturer of home furnishings.

References

Heartland Industrial Partners To Buy Simpson Industries
Autoparts Report October 2, 2000,
Producing Gold In The Rust Belt
Automotive Manufacturing & Production, March, 2001 {{private equity firms Private equity firms of the United States Financial services companies established in 1999 2013 disestablishments in Connecticut 1999 establishments in Connecticut Financial services companies disestablished in 2013