Tidewater is positioned as a long-term investor in a variety of companies and vehicles, which we feel will provide superior value-creation for our investors. Through our team and network, we are able to consider a wide array of opportunities in order to take advantage of market cycles while maintaining a disciplined investment management process.
Below are our existing portfolio companies and investments:
South Atlantic Contract Packaging
South Atlantic Contract Packaging is a full-service contract packaging company headquartered in Winston-Salem, NC. The company’s turn-key services include packaging development, procurement, as well as labor and logistics management. South Atlantic counts several brand names in the food, beverage, apparel, health & beauty, office supply, and household sectors among its long-established and stable customer base. The company’s service capabilities include point-of-sale kits, gift boxes, shrink wrapping, skin packaging, blister packing and labeling.
With facilities in Winston-Salem, NC, Tampa, FL, and Pottstown, PA (near Philadelphia), South Atlantic can effectively service clients throughout the Atlantic seaboard and into the Midwest. In addition, the company can also service customers in their own facilities via an “embed” model, with South Atlantic providing such services in six locations. The company’s flexible approach allows it to scale between small and large projects, as well as effectively handle ongoing, one-time or seasonal runs.
Tidewater completed a full buyout of South Atlantic in 2017. Since that time, the company has experienced significant revenue and EBITDA growth. South Atlantic has also received numerous honors since the Tidewater acquisition, including being named the Triad Business Journal Fast 50 and the Business North Carolina Top 50 Growth Companies list. Merrette Moore has served as Executive Chairman of the South Atlantic Board of Directors since the transaction closed.
Leghorn Investments
Leghorn Investments LLC (the “Company”) finances poultry farm operations throughout the United States. Each farm is sourced from, and fully underwritten by, Live Oak Bank’s Agriculture Vertical. Live Oak finances the majority of each farm project by taking a senior position, and Leghorn Investments finances the remainder with subordinated debt.
An investment in Leghorn is a unique fixed-income investment in a well-diversified fund made up of various poultry farms throughout the country. All farms in the fund are financed by Live Oak Bank, Leghorn Investments, and the individual farmer’s equity. Live Oak is one of the top poultry lenders in the country. Additionally, each farmer has a contract with one of the large poultry companies, further strengthening each deal. The poultry industry is extremely vertically integrated which assists in minimizing individual farm-specific risk.
Contego Medical, LLC
Contego Medical, LLC is a medical device company poised to disrupt the field of endovascular medicine. The Company’s Integrated Embolic Protection technology has been uniquely designed to address unmet needs in peripheral and cardiovascular procedures. The core benefit of this platform technology is the integration of embolic protection onto the same catheter as the treatment portion (i.e., balloon or stent).
Contego has amassed a team of highly seasoned medical device professionals to manage this effort, led by Founder and CEO Ravish Sachar, MD, FACC. The Company is positioned for growth in a number of target markets and geographies over the next several years.
Tidewater has participated in multiple financings for Contego, with the most recent being the company’s $23 million Series C financing. Merrette Moore is a Board Observer for the company.
Phononic
Phononic is reimagining cooling and heating in ways never thought possible. Its breakthrough technology is transforming industries and creating new markets with innovative solid-state solutions that disrupt antiquated business models and incumbent technologies. Phononic is the critical element of innovation needed to radically change what it means to be efficient, effective and sustainable. The company has been named to the 2016, 2017 and 2019 CNBC Disruptor 50 lists, received the US EPA’s 2017 Emerging Tech Award, R&D 100 Award and more.
Tidewater has participated in multiple financings for Phononic, including the company’s Series E and F rounds, as well as the most recent $45 million convertible debt round led by Temasek, the sovereign wealth fund of Singapore.
Opus Medical
Opus Medical Therapies is a medical device company that is developing a transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement device. The device is designed to fully replace the malfunctioning tricuspid valve, whereas most current treatments simply aim to repair it. Beginning with extensive clinical experience in valve therapies, the Opus Medical founders have achieved significant milestones already as they pursue an accelerated route to Revenue.
Venus Medtech (Hangzhou) Inc, the leading Chinese transcatheter heart valve company and Opus have recently announced a partnership agreement to develop, manufacture and sell these TMVR and TTVR products in Greater China. This agreement, covering the whole Greater China market, will allow physicians and patients in this region to benefit from transcatheter mitral and tricuspid valve replacement. The combination is unavailable in any other market or from any other company. Tidewater participated in the seed round for Opus in 2018. Co-investors included current and former executives of Boston Scientific and Medtronic.
Tidewater Pickleball Park
Tidewater Pickleball Park is a best-in-class recreational and social experience. The company is developing plans for a network of first-rate facilities that integrate the competitive and social aspects of the game that make pickleball the fastest growing sport in the country. The company will also offer a wide array of proprietary as well as best-in-class pickleball apparel, equipment and accessories.
The flagship Tidewater Pickleball Park facility will be located in the Wilmington, NC area with similar facilities planned for coastal communities along the southeast Atlantic and Gulf seaboards. Tidewater Park facilities will feature 20+ regulation, outdoor courts, including covered courts, a pro shop, locker rooms for members, a playground area, a fast casual restaurant, and a rooftop viewing area, among other amenities.