The Management Company
Incline Management, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, is a private investment management
company doing business as Incline Equity Partners. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, with offices
in New York, NY, Incline Equity Partners was formed in April 2011 to provide investment
advisory services to private equity fund clients through limited partnership interests, focusing on
private investments in lower middle-market growth companies. Incline Management, L.P. is
controlled by John (“Jack”) C. Glover and Leon M. Rubinov (together, the “Principals”).
In August of 2011, Incline Equity Partners registered as an investment adviser with the SEC to
provide investment management services exclusively to private equity funds that are pooled
investment vehicles exempt from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as
amended (“Investment Company Act”).
The following are certain affiliated entities of Incline Equity Partners (each, a “general partner,”
and collectively, together with any future affiliated general partner entities, the “general partners,”
and together with Incline Equity Partners, the “Adviser” or “Incline”):
♦ Allegheny Capital Partners II, LLC
♦ Incline GP III, LLC
♦ Incline GP IV, L.P.
♦ Incline Elevate GP, L.P.
♦ Incline GP V, L.P.
♦ Incline Elevate GP II, L.P.
♦ Incline Ascent GP, L.P.
♦ Incline GP VI, L.P.
Each general partner is subject to the Advisers Act pursuant to Incline Equity Partners’ registration
in accordance with SEC guidance. This Brochure also describes the business practices of each
affiliated general partner, which operates as a single advisory business together with Incline Equity
Partners. The terms ‘Adviser’ and ‘general partner’ are used interchangeably throughout this
Brochure.
The Funds
In September 2011, the Adviser (via a predecessor entity) assumed management of certain private
investment funds previously managed by PNC Equity Management Corp. These private
investment funds consist of PNC Equity Partners, L.P. (“Fund I”) and PNC Equity Partners II, L.P.
(“Fund II”). Fund I was liquidated in 2017 while Fund II was liquidated in 2021. The Adviser
also provides advisory services to Incline Equity Partners III, L.P. (together with parallel funds
and certain other related vehicles, “Fund III”); Incline Equity Partners IV, L.P. and Incline Equity
Partners IV AIV, L.P. (collectively with any alternative investment vehicles that may be
established “Fund IV”); Incline Elevate Fund, L.P. and Incline Elevate Fund A, L.P. (collectively
with any alternative investment vehicles that may be established “Elevate” or “Incline Elevate”);
Incline Equity Partners V, L.P. and Incline Equity Partners V-A, L.P. and IEP V Executive Fund,
L.P. (collectively with any alternative investment vehicles that may be established “Fund V”);
Incline Elevate Fund II, L.P., Incline Elevate Fund II-A, L.P. and IEP Elevate II Executive Fund
(collectively with any alternative investment vehicles that may be established “Elevate II”); Incline
Ascent Fund, L.P., Incline Ascent Fund A, L.P. and IEP Ascent Executive Fund, L.P. (collectively
with any alternative investment vehicles that may be established “Ascent”) and Incline Equity
Partners VI, L.P. and Incline Equity Partners VI-A, L.P. (collectively with any alternative
investment vehicles that may be established “Fund VI”). The Adviser has also formed co-
investment vehicles to facilitate certain investments made by Fund V, which are disclosed in
Schedule D, Section 7.A. of the Adviser’s Form ADV Part 1. The Adviser’s services are provided
pursuant to a management agreement with the general partner or manager of each of Fund III,
Fund IV, Elevate, Fund V, Elevate II, Ascent, and Fund VI, as well as pursuant to the governing
documents of the applicable co-investment vehicles. Fund III, Fund IV, Elevate, Fund V, Elevate
II, Ascent, and Fund VI and co-investment vehicles, together with any future private investment
funds to which the Adviser and or its affiliates provide investment advisory services, are referred
to collectively in this Brochure as the “Funds.”
As of December 31, 2023, the Adviser had $5.5 billion in discretionary regulatory assets under
management. The Adviser does not manage any assets on
a non-discretionary basis.
Advisory Services
The Adviser tailors its advisory services to the specific investment objectives and restrictions of
each Fund pursuant to the investment guidelines and restrictions set forth in each Fund’s
confidential private placement memorandum, limited partnership agreement and other governing
documents (collectively, the “Governing Documents”). Information about each Fund and the
particular investment objectives, strategies, restrictions, and risks associated with an investment
are described in the Governing Documents, which are made available to investors only through
the Adviser and its authorized agents.
The Funds are offered exclusively to individuals who qualify as “accredited investors” under
Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”), and/or
“qualified purchasers” as defined under Section 2(a)(51) of the Investment Company Act and are
therefore not required to register as investment companies with the SEC in accordance with the
exemptions set forth in Sections 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act. Investment
strategies and guidelines are not tailored to the individualized needs of any particular investor in a
Fund. Once invested in a Fund, an investor cannot impose restrictions on the types of securities in
which such Fund may invest. Investors in the Funds participate in the overall investment program
for the relevant Fund, but in certain circumstances are excused from a particular investment due
to legal, regulatory, or other agreed-upon circumstances pursuant to the Governing Documents;
provided that such arrangements generally do not and will not create an adviser-client relationship
between the Adviser and any investor. Investments in the Funds involve significant risks and
should be regarded as long-term in nature, forming only one portion of an investor’s diversified
investment portfolio.
Market Focus
The primary investment responsibility of the Adviser to the Funds is making equity investments
in middle-market companies located in the United States and Canada. The Funds focus on making
control-oriented equity investments in companies in three core business sectors (value-added
distribution, business services, and specialized light manufacturing) where the Principals have
considerable prior investment experience. The Funds generally invest in growing companies with
enterprise values of $25 million to $750 million, as more fully described in each Fund’s Governing
Documents.
The Funds seek to identify investment opportunities that offer downside protection through
defensible market positions and strong financial profiles, while also offering the potential for
upside through multiple opportunities for value creation. The Funds’ value-creation strategies
typically focus on (i) identifying areas for strategic and operational improvement, (ii) completing
strategic add-on acquisitions and (iii) augmenting a company’s management team and board of
directors in response to growth. Incline will begin to screen for value-creation opportunities during
its initial evaluation of an investment opportunity. The investment term of each Fund is specified
in the applicable Fund’s Governing Documents.
Each Fund generally will utilize one of the following exit strategies to monetize portfolio assets:
(a) sell a portfolio company privately; or (b) take the portfolio company public via an initial public
offering or special purpose acquisition company (“SPAC”). It is anticipated that most portfolio
companies will be sold to private buyers. The Funds mainly invest in non-public companies,
although they reserve the right to invest in public companies subject to any limits set forth in the
applicable Fund’s Governing Documents. Each Fund may also hold public company investments
as a result of a sale of all or a portion of the Fund’s investments in a portfolio company, such as
when a portfolio company goes public or is sold to a public company and the Fund receives stock
in such public company. When investing in portfolio companies, the Principals of the Adviser
often serve on portfolio company boards of directors or otherwise act to influence the management
of these companies until the applicable Fund exits the investment.