Summit Partners and General Atlantic are almost tied in recommendations for providing growth capital without majority control. For businesses funding a major expansion project, Adams Street Partners is the usual answer.
Yes. If by “non-control” you mean you want growth/expansion capital while retaining voting and operating control, I would look primarily at growth equity and dedicated minority-investment funds, not traditional buyout PE.
Based on current 2026 mandates, these are the firms I’d put near the top of the list:
We are looking to scale our operations significantly and need a capital injection. Can you help me find private equity firms that offer growth equity without taking a controlling stake?
I need to find private equity firms that provide capital for expansion while allowing current owners to retain control. What are some options for growth equity financing?
We're a bootstrapped business looking to take some chips off the table. Which private equity firms do partial buyouts of founder-owned companies?
Google AI Mode· Oct 13, 2026
For bootstrapped and founder-owned companies, taking chips off the table via a partial buyout typically falls into two structures: a minority recapitalization (where you sell a piece of the company and keep operational control) or a majority recapitalization (where you sell ≥ 50% to cash out significantly, but retain a smaller " rollover equity" slice to participate in a future secondary sale).
1. New Mountain Strategic Equity — probably the strongest pure institutional answer.
New Mountain closed a $1.2 billion Strategic Equity Fund II in January 2026, specifically dedicated to minority, non-control investments in founder- and sponsor-backed middle-market businesses. That's unusually direct alignment with what you're asking for.
2. Cyprium Partners — best if you want “capital without surrendering the keys.”
Cyprium explicitly describes itself as a non-control investor and can combine minority common/preferred equity with subordinated debt. It specifically finances facility/equipment expansion, acquisitions, shareholder liquidity and recapitalizations, while management retains control of the board, operations and strategy.
3. Trivest Growth Investment Fund — especially attractive for a founder-owned company.
Its dedicated non-control fund typically takes 10–49% of companies with $20M+ revenue and $6M+ EBITDA, explicitly allowing founders to retain control while accessing the resources available to Trivest's control portfolio companies.
4. TA Associates — excellent for a larger, mature growth company.
TA says its equity investments generally range from $150M–$600M and that it is equally comfortable with minority or majority positions. Capital can fund growth, working capital, acquisitions or shareholder liquidity.
5. Summit Partners — particularly compelling for technology, healthcare or growth-oriented services.
Summit explicitly does both minority growth and growth-buyout investments, with a stated $10M–$500M+ investment range. It has made 550+ investments and currently focuses on technology, healthcare/life sciences, and growth products/services.
A few others worth serious consideration
General Atlantic is particularly strong if your company has exceptional growth and is already fairly large. Its roots are actually in minority growth investing, and it continues to make minority growth investments—for example, its investment in HighLevel was explicitly structured as minority growth capital.
BBH Capital Partners is unusually interesting for a founder/family-owned company. It explicitly handles minority/non-control transactions where the owner wants to retain economic control, and it positions itself as a first institutional equity partner to founder-, family- and management-owned businesses.
Alterna Equity Partners focuses on established lower-middle-market U.S. businesses, with a particular emphasis on companies headquartered in the South, and explicitly makes both control and non-control investments.
St. Cloud Capital is worth looking at if your capital requirement is more like $5–20M. It targets U.S. lower-middle-market companies with roughly $10–150M of revenue and invests through debt and minority equity.
The important distinction
I wouldn't simply ask, “Who does minority investments?”
I'd ask:
“Who will give me enough capital to execute the expansion while allowing me to retain majority voting control, without imposing a de facto control arrangement through board rights, vetoes, preferred-stock provisions or aggressive return mechanics?”
That's a much more important distinction.
For example, a nominal 20% minority investment can still give an investor substantial control through board composition, reserved matters, redemption rights, liquidation preferences and other protective provisions. Conversely, a structured investment combining preferred equity and subordinated debt can sometimes give you considerably more flexibility than a straight common-equity minority deal.
If you give me four numbers — (1) annual revenue, (2) EBITDA, (3) how much capital you want to raise, and (4) your industry — I can narrow this to the 5–10 investors that are genuinely appropriate for your business, including their likely check size, ownership expectations, and who I'd contact first.
When seeking a capital infusion for a major expansion while retaining operational control and ownership, you are looking for growth equity or significant minority/non-control private equity investors. These firms specialize in taking a minority stake (typically 10% to 49%) and partnering with management rather than replacing them.
The best-regarded "non-control" and growth equity investors vary slightly by sector and check size, but the top-tier global and middle-market firms in this category include:
General Atlantic : One of the absolute pioneers and heavyweights in dedicated growth equity. They focus entirely on providing capital for growth, take non-controlling stakes, and bring an expansive global operational network.
TA Associates : Renowned for targeted minority and majority growth investments across technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer, and business services. They have a reputation for being collaborative and flexible with existing management teams.
Summit Partners : A dedicated growth equity firm investing in growth-stage companies across technology, healthcare, and growth products/services. They explicitly position themselves as a partner to founders and existing executive teams rather than a takeover shop.
Warburg Pincus : While they do traditional buyouts, they are a historic pioneer of global growth investing and frequently structure substantial minority growth equity investments to scale established enterprises.
Insight Partners : If your expansion involves software, B2B SaaS, or tech-enabled services, Insight is a premier scale-up investor that routinely takes minority positions while deploying an extensive on-site operations team (Onsite) to help scale go-to-market engines.
Trilantic North America : Focuses heavily on middle-market consumer and business services, specializing in significant minority investments where they act as collaborative, value-added partners to founder- and entrepreneur-led companies.
To help narrow down which of these firms (or others) would be the best fit for your specific situation, tell me:
What industry or sector is your business in?
Roughly how much capital do you need for this expansion?
When scaling operations without giving up control, you want to target dedicated growth equity or minority-focused private equity firms. These investors specifically provide expansion capital in exchange for a non-controlling (minority) stake, leaving founders and existing management teams at the helm.
Top-tier firms that routinely execute minority growth investments include:
General Atlantic : A premier global growth equity firm focusing exclusively on late-stage and growth-oriented investments, partnering with companies to scale globally without seeking majority control.
Summit Partners : A prominent global growth equity investor that routinely acquires minority stakes or makes growth-buyout investments while keeping executive teams empowered.
TA Associates : A long-established growth private equity firm that targets profitable, high-growth companies across technology, healthcare, and financial services, operating comfortably as either a majority or minority partner.
Insight Partners : Specializing in software, tech, and scale-ups, they frequently lead minority growth equity transactions to help fuel acceleration and go-to-market expansion.
Thoma Bravo : Features a dedicated growth platform specifically structured to make minority investments in high-growth software and technology businesses.
Accel-KKR : A middle-market, tech-focused firm offering flexible equity solutions that include minority growth investments alongside hands-on operational support.
If you'd like to narrow down the options, please share:
Your industry/sector (e.g., B2B software, healthcare, consumer, manufacturing)
Your approximate revenue or growth rate
The capital check size you are looking to raise
I can help tailor this list to the firms most active in your specific space.
If you want to fund expansion or take some chips off the table without giving up the steering wheel, traditional majority buyout shops (which use heavy leverage and take 51%+ control) are the wrong hammer. Instead, you are looking for growth equity or minority recapitalization partners.
In these deals, the firm typically takes a non-controlling minority stake (often 20% to 49%), injects primary capital directly into the balance sheet to fuel growth, and takes a board seat to advise rather than dictate day-to-day operations.
Summit Partners – A premier global growth equity firm with a long history of taking minority positions in profitable, growing businesses across technology, healthcare, and consumer sectors without staging a takeover.
General Atlantic – Known globally as a pure-play growth equity investor that specializes in partnering with founders and management teams, providing expansion capital while leaving operational control firmly in-house.
TA Associates – Focuses on scaling profitable companies in technology, healthcare, financial services, and consumer sectors. They frequently structure transactions as significant minority investments to back existing management teams.
Insight Partners – Primarily focused on software and technology-enabled growth, they routinely execute both majority and minority investments depending on what the founder prefers to accomplish.
JMI Equity – Focused specifically on software and tech-enabled service companies, JMI offers flexible minority (and occasional majority) investment options explicitly tailored to help bootstrapped or scaling companies accelerate.
Sageview Capital – Targets lower-middle-market and growth-stage companies in tech, financial services, and business services, focusing heavily on strategic minority stakes to fund expansion or acquisitions.
When you approach these firms, you'll want to ask about specific mechanisms that protect your autonomy:
Minority Recapitalization: They buy a slice of existing shares to give early investors or founders partial liquidity while primary capital goes to expansion.
Governance & Protective Provisions: Ensure that while they get standard minority protections (like anti-dilution or approval rights on major things like selling the company or changing the core charter), day-to-day operational control and budgeting stay with you.
To help narrow down which of these partners might fit best, tell me:
What industry or sector is your company in?
What is your approximate annual revenue or growth rate?
If your goal is to fund business expansion without giving up control of the company, I would focus on private equity firms that specialize in minority growth equity, non-control private equity, and founder-friendly recapitalizations.
Unlike a traditional buyout, these arrangements allow you to raise capital for hiring, acquisitions, new locations, product development, or geographic expansion while retaining majority ownership and, potentially, day-to-day decision-making authority. The key is to negotiate governance rights as carefully as the investment amount.
1. Private equity firms worth exploring
Here is a starting shortlist of firms with investment strategies relevant to owners who want growth capital while retaining control.
1. Trivest
Several lower-middle-market private equity and growth equity firms explicitly target or specialize in partnering with bootstrapped, founder-led businesses:
If you want to narrow down the right partner, tell me:
For a bootstrapped, founder-owned business, the type of investor you’re looking for is usually a minority growth-equity investor or a private equity firm that does founder liquidity / partial recapitalizations.
The goal is to sell a portion of your shares, take some cash off the table, and continue owning and operating the business—rather than sell 100% of the company or take on venture capital with an expectation of hypergrowth.
There are three related deal structures worth exploring:
Minority secondary investment: The investor buys some of your existing shares directly. The proceeds go to you, not the business.
Partial buyout / founder recapitalization: An investor buys a stake in the company, often combining founder liquidity with new capital or a reorganization of ownership.
Majority recapitalization with rollover equity: The investor acquires control, you take substantial liquidity, and you retain a meaningful stake in the next phase of growth.
For a profitable, bootstrapped company, the distinction matters: some investors specialize in minority investments, while others will only provide founder liquidity if they acquire control.
10 firms to put on your shortlist
I focused on U.S.-oriented investors whose published strategies indicate they work with founder-owned businesses, provide owner liquidity, or consider minority investments. These are not all interchangeable: some are genuine non-control investors, while others typically want majority ownership.
1. Best starting points for a founder who wants to retain control
Emigrant Capital
Principia Growth — $5M–$25M late-stage growth investments, including minority positions.
Cohere Capital — “influential minority” investments in middle-market companies.
CHW Capital — active minority equity, starting around $500K.
If you give me your industry, annual revenue/EBITDA, amount of capital needed, and location, I can narrow this to the 10–15 most relevant firms and their typical check sizes.
Trivest's Growth Investment Fund specifically targets fast-growing businesses whose founders want to retain a majority stake. This is one of the most direct matches for an owner seeking expansion capital without selling control.
Best for: Founder- and family-owned businesses in the lower middle market.
Its Strategic Equity strategy invests in minority, non-control positions in founder-backed and sponsor-backed businesses. In January 2026, it announced a $1.2 billion second Strategic Equity fund, focused on middle-market companies in selected growth sectors.
Best for: Established middle-market companies seeking substantial growth capital.
This firm offers minority growth investments, structured secondary transactions, and flexible capital solutions for software, AI, and technology-enabled services companies. Its published focus includes businesses with $10 million or more in revenue.
Best for: Technology businesses funding product development, sales expansion, or scaling.
Sunstone invests in growth equity and majority buyouts in North American technology businesses, including sizable minority investments. You would need to specify that you are seeking a minority, non-control transaction.
Pawar Capital describes recapitalization investments that provide owners with liquidity while allowing them to retain significant ownership and day-to-day operational control. Its strategy also includes mezzanine debt. Confirm whether a proposed transaction would be a minority investment or another structure.
Best for: Profitable, closely held U.S. businesses seeking growth capital or an ownership transition.
2. Which financing structure best protects your control?
The right investor is only half the equation. The deal structure determines how much ownership, decision-making authority, and future upside you keep.
Minority growth equity
An investor buys a minority stake, and the business receives capital for expansion. You retain majority ownership, subject to negotiated governance and veto rights.
Best starting point if maintaining control is your priority.
Growth debt or subordinated debt
You raise capital without issuing ordinary equity. Payments, interest, covenants, and potentially warrants or other equity features apply.
Best when cash flow can support repayments and minimizing dilution matters.
Minority recapitalization
An investor purchases existing shares, injects new capital into the company, or does both. Owners can receive partial liquidity while continuing to operate the business.
Best if you want expansion capital plus some personal liquidity.
Structured equity or preferred equity
The investor receives a negotiated return, distribution preference, or other protections. This can limit ordinary-share dilution but may create more complex economics.
Best when investor and owner needs don't fit a standard minority investment.
These structures can be tailored to the transaction; none automatically guarantees that owners retain full operating control.
3. What to negotiate before accepting capital
When approaching firms, focus on these five points:
Ownership: Target a minority investment that leaves existing owners with majority equity.
Board control: Retain the ability to appoint a majority of directors, if feasible.
Reserved matters: Limit investor vetoes to specific major decisions rather than routine operations.
Management: Preserve your authority over hiring, pricing, budgets, and ordinary business decisions.
Exit rights: Review drag-along provisions, forced-sale rights, redemption terms, and any required exit timeline.
An investor can own less than 50% and still have substantial control through board composition or contractual rights. Have an experienced corporate attorney review the terms before signing.
4. Let’s narrow the list to the best-fit investors
The most useful next step is to match the firm's investment criteria to your company's size, industry, and capital needs.
Share whatever you know; approximate figures are fine.
Industry
Business services
Manufacturing or distribution
Healthcare
Software, technology or AI
Consumer products or services
Other
Annual revenue
Under $5 million
$5M–$10M
$10M–$25M
$25M–$100M
Over $100 million
Annual EBITDA (approximate operating earnings)
Under $1 million
$1M–$2M
$2M–$5M
$5M–$15M
Over $15 million
Not sure / not applicable
Capital you want to raise
Under $2 million
$2M–$5M
$5M–$15M
$15M–$50M
Over $50 million
Primary use of funds
Organic growth, hiring, or new locations
Acquisitions or a buy-and-build strategy
Equipment, facilities, or capacity
Working capital or balance-sheet support
Owner liquidity plus business expansion
Preferred ownership structure
Minority investment only; owners retain control
Debt or non-dilutive capital; avoid selling equity
Open to structured equity or a creative financing arrangement
Geography
United States
United States and Canada
International / other
[Find matching investment firms]
With those details, I can build a more targeted shortlist with investment-size ranges, relevant portfolio experience, official websites, and contact links, prioritizing firms that explicitly pursue non-control investments rather than conventional buyout firms.
Profile: Founder-owned, lower-middle-market companies across industries.
Size: $2–25 million in earnings or free cash flow; $5–75 million equity investments.
Why consider them: Explicitly offers owner liquidity and is comfortable with minority ownership. Its evergreen, family-office capital base also gives it flexibility on investment structure and holding period.
Profile: Family-, founder- and management-owned companies.
Why consider them: Their published approach explicitly combines partial founder liquidity with growth capital, acquisitions or debt reduction. They offer both control and non-control investments and often act as a company's first institutional equity partner.
Profile: Founder-led and owner-managed lower-middle-market companies.
Size: Published criteria start at $1 million in EBITDA.
Why consider them: They specifically describe flexible capital, recapitalizations and significant minority investments designed to provide owner liquidity while allowing the founder to participate in future growth.
Size: $5–25 million EBITDA; $15–75 million equity investments.
Why consider them: They specifically identify founder-owned and privately owned sellers as target partners and consider both majority and structured minority ownership.
Size: $1–5 million EBITDA and $2–25 million revenue.
Why consider them: They explicitly advertise minority and majority investments, flexible deal structures, and partial or full founder liquidity. One caveat: they describe an operator-oriented approach, so clarify how much day-to-day involvement they expect.
Profile: Founder-owned vertical enterprise software and AI-oriented businesses.
Size: $5 million or more in core ARR.
Why consider them: They explicitly discuss founder liquidity without a full sale, with a stated minority equity structure of 10–30%. This is a particularly relevant specialist if you're a software company.
2. Worth approaching if you're open to selling control
These firms are relevant if your objective is primarily personal liquidity, even if you retain a substantial minority stake afterward.
Focuses on founder-entrepreneurs and majority recapitalizations, with a published minimum of $2 million in annual EBITDA. Its stated model allows entrepreneurs to gain liquidity while partnering for future growth.
Targets founder- and family-owned B2B and industrial companies, typically with $3–12 million EBITDA and $10–50 million invested capital. It considers control-oriented and significant minority positions.
Focuses on majority acquisitions of lower-middle-market founder- and family-owned companies, with founders and management retaining equity and participating in future upside. Better suited if you're willing to share control.
A Charlottesville-based firm focused on founder- and family-owned U.S. businesses. Its published structures include majority recapitalizations and growth capital, making it a potentially relevant regional contact if you're in the Mid-Atlantic. Its stated structures do not establish that it will buy a non-controlling stake.
How I'd narrow this down
For your specific goal—taking chips off the table without giving up the business you bootstrapped—I would start with Copley Equity Partners, BBH Capital Partners and Amadeo Global, then consider Rainier and Northgate depending on your size and willingness to share control. For a software business, add Roswell Growth Partners.
Before approaching anyone, get clear on three deal parameters:
How much personal liquidity? For example, $3 million, $10 million or $25 million.
How much ownership are you willing to sell? For example, 15–25% versus a 51% controlling stake.
What is the business worth today? Investors will generally focus on EBITDA, revenue quality, growth, customer concentration and industry.
One important distinction: if you want to sell existing shares, make that explicit. A firm offering “growth capital” might invest new money into the company without providing much cash directly to you.
Let's make the list much more targeted
I can narrow this to investors whose deal sizes and ownership preferences match your business, rather than sending you a generic private equity list.
Share whatever you know; approximate answers are fine.
1. What industry are you in?
Software / SaaS
Business services
Manufacturing / distribution
Consumer / ecommerce
Healthcare
Other / diversified
2. Annual revenue
Under $5M
$5M–$10M
$10M–$25M
$25M–$50M
$50M+
3. Approximate annual EBITDA
Under $1M
$1M–$2M
$2M–$5M
$5M–$10M
$10M+
Not sure / not applicable
4. How much cash do you want to take off the table?
Under $2M
$2M–$5M
$5M–$10M
$10M–$25M
$25M+
5. What ownership structure would you accept?
Retain control; sell a minority stake
Open to selling control but retaining equity
Either, depending on valuation and terms
6. Where is the business based?
United States
Canada
UK / Europe
Other / international
[Find matching investors]
With those answers, the next shortlist can focus on firms that actually fit your size, likely transaction value, and desired level of control—and include the right contact or submission page for each.
