Ann Arbor, Mich.-based venture firm Arbor Partners is merging with larger, more established Blue Chip Partners of Cincinnati. Curiously, in their joint press release announcing the merger, they never use the term merger or any variant of the word.
The dictionary defines a merger as the absorption of a lesser estate into a greater one. Let's go through the check list:
- Blue Chip manages $600 million in capital compared with Arbor's $38 million.
- Arbor's headquarters is becoming Blue Chip's Michigan office.
- Arbor's staff is joining Blue Chip. Don Walker and Dick
Eidswick of Arbor Partners have become Venture Partners with Blue Chip, and
Josh Beebe of Arbor Partners has become a Venture Principal with Blue Chip.
Upon review, it seems the announcement fits the definition of a merger.
I suppose there is one caveat, Arbor's $38 million will remain separate from Blue Chip's $600 million. However, keeping earlier funds separate until those limited partnership's dissolve is common when private equity firms merge. For recent examples of other private equity firm mergers — that actually use the term merger — see Saunders Karp & Megrue joining Apax Partners. —Matthew Wurtzel
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