Palo Alto, CA and Scottsdale, AZ – October 2, 2020 – Altamont Capital Partners (“Altamont”) today announced an equity investment in Cornerstone Advisors, Inc. (“Cornerstone”), a leading provider of advisory services to banking institutions.
Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Scottsdale, AZ, Cornerstone is the leading authority on driving revenue and profitability improvements for mid-size banks and credit unions. Led by founders Scott Sommer and Steve Williams, who will remain as CEO and President respectively, Cornerstone has grown consistently by providing high-quality services to its national client base. The firm offers a broad set of bespoke advisory services with leading contract negotiation services led by COO Bob Roth. This partnership with Altamont will enable Cornerstone to better serve clients while continuing to make investments in its employees, data-powered offerings, and internal infrastructure.
Sommer, commenting on the partnership, said: “We are very excited about this investment and believe that it positions Cornerstone very well for the future. With Altamont’s resources, we are better suited to capitalize on attractive growth opportunities while continuing to provide our clients with the superior solutions and customer experience that they have come to expect.”
Williams added: “We chose Altamont as a partner because of their deep knowledge of our business model and shared vision of our strategy. It was important to our leadership team that we partnered with an investor that understands our business and will play an active role in our growth.”
Casey Lynch, Managing Director of Altamont, said: “Cornerstone is a strong market leader with best-in-class capabilities serving a market with robust demand for their expertise. We are thrilled to partner with the Cornerstone team to support this next growth phase. Altamont’s business-building resources and Cornerstone’s entrepreneurial culture and talented workforce are an excellent fit.”
Echoing that sentiment, Wande Olabisi, Vice President of Altamont, added: “Altamont’s successful investments in business services have centered around bringing together the right people, systems, and resources. One of Cornerstone’s greatest strengths is its senior leadership team. The combination of this team with Altamont’s deep experience growing similar companies, as well as our extensive network in financial services make us a uniquely strong partner to support Cornerstone in capturing the numerous opportunities ahead.”
Lazard Middle Market acted as exclusive financial advisor to Altamont on this transaction, with Ropes & Gray and Morrison & Foerster serving as legal counsel. Financing for the transaction was provided by Churchill Asset Management and LBC Credit Partners.
Clearsight Advisors acted as exclusive financial advisor to Cornerstone on this transaction, with Snell & Wilmer serving as legal counsel.
About Altamont Capital Partners
Altamont Capital Partners is a private investment firm based in the San Francisco Bay Area with more than $2.5 billion of assets under management. Altamont is focused on investing in middle market businesses where it can partner with leading management teams to help its portfolio companies reach their full potential. The firm’s principals have significant experience building business success stories across a range of industries, including business services, healthcare, consumer/retail, industrials, and financial services.