Teall Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused primarily in the sports and entertainment industries, recently closed its fund, raising more than $68 million in committed capital. Teall Capital was formed in fall 2017 by Ben C. Sutton, Jr. and had most of the initial investment commitments in place by the end of last year.
Teall Capital is based in Winston-Salem, NC, Atlanta, GA, and San Francisco, CA, and has developed an investment portfolio during its first year that includes Dyehard Fan Supply, Riddle & Bloom, Sunshine Beverages, and Tailgate Guys. Sutton, who serves as chairman of Teall Capital, is widely recognized as one of the most accomplished entrepreneurs and business leaders in the sports and entertainment industry. He is the former chairman of IMG College and the founder, chairman and CEO of ISP Sports.
“We are delighted with the success of our first raise both in terms of exceeding of our financial objective, goal as well as the quality of our investors,” Sutton said. “Our partners are recognized as leaders across multiple industries and bring incredible expertise and strategic insight to the companies we are building.”
Sutton said that while Teall Capital received significant interest from institutional investors, the fund never really considered altering its focus from specific individuals and family investments.
“From the beginning, our plan was to keep our fundraising efforts limited to a close-knit group of individual strategic investors, many of whom have a background in sports, entertainment or lifestyle brand development,” Teall Capital partner Wes Day said. “The capital raised thus far will allow us to make acquisitions and continue to provide strong support for those companies already partially- or fully-acquired.”
One of Teall Capital’s early investments was in Tailgate Guys, an athletic event hospitality and tailgate service provider. Since the time of Teall’s investment, Tailgate Guys expanded its reach outside the southeast and grown from six to nearly 45 partners, venturing beyond college sports into professional sports and entertainment venues. Tailgate Guys now operates in 10 states across the country.
Dyehard Fan Supply, which Teall formed in December 2017, provides sports and entertainment event merchandising and e-commerce solutions. One of Dyehard’s first major moves was executing a significant, long-term partnership renewal with Tough Mudder, one of the fastest-growing sporting event in America. Dyehard now represents more than 30 clients including the University of Arkansas, Auburn University, the University of North Carolina, Rutgers University, Columbia University and the World Equestrian Games.
Teall Capital is the controlling owner of Sunshine, a “better-for-you” energy beverage that has grown from two distributors a year ago to its current 30 distributors. In addition, Sunshine has expanded its territorial growth during the last year and is now available at almost 3,000 retail outlets including Kroger, QuikTrip, Food Lion, Publix, and Lowes Foods, as well as a wide range of convenience stores, independent retailers, and craft beer breweries.
Teall Capital also acquired Riddle & Bloom, an “ideas and access” agency helping clients market to the growing demographic of Next Generation consumers: high schoolers, college students, and young professionals. Since the acquisition, Riddle & Bloom has signed exclusive partnerships with three of the nation’s most significant organizations at the epicenter of collegiate campus life and entertainment, service and recreation. These partnerships have helped put Riddle & Bloom’s clients on more than 1,500 college campuses nationwide.
About Ben C. Sutton, Jr.
Ben C. Sutton, Jr. is the founder and chairman of Teall Capital Partners, a private equity firm with investments in innovative, high-growth-potential lifestyle brands and services. Teall Capital portfolio companies include next-gen marketing agency Riddle & Bloom, national hospitality company Tailgate Guys, sports and entertainment merchandising business Dyehard Fan Supply, and Sunshine Beverages.
Widely credited for inventing the college media business as it is known today, Sutton sold his first company, ISP Sports, to IMG College, where he was named CEO and chairman. At IMG College, he built the core businesses of IMG College into four national market-leading companies (media, licensing, ticketing, and stadium seating) and helped engineer the sale of the company in 2014.
Sutton has received several lifetime achievement awards, including the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest civilian honor in North Carolina, and the Wake Forest University Distinguished Alumni award. Sutton has also been inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, the National Football Foundation Leadership Hall of Fame, and was recently named by SportsBusinessJournal as part of their Champions: Pioneers & Innovators in Sports Business. He serves on the boards of Wake Forest University, the White House Historical Association, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, the National Football Foundation, and the U.S. Olympic Committee foundation.
About Teall Capital Partners
Teall Capital Partners is a privately-held set of investments in innovative, high-growth-potential lifestyle brands and services. Teall invests in complementary organizations that collaborate to share thought leadership and leverage individual networks to realize greater value.
Led by Founder and Chairman Ben C. Sutton, Jr., the Teall Capital management team includes several of the top executives that built and expanded four national market-leading businesses into a nearly billion-dollar enterprise in the college sports space: IMG College Media, IMG Seating, IMG College Licensing, and IMG Ticketing. Teall Capital leadership provides operating companies with access to expertise in corporate strategy, organizational management, culture and training, financial strategy, employee operations, recruiting, and legal diligence. Visit TeallCapital.com for more information.
