Global law firm Reed Smith has advised Prairie Capital, a Chicago-based middle market private equity firm, on a strategic growth investment in its portfolio company Upshop by Level Equity, a private investment firm focused on providing capital to rapidly growing software and technology-driven businesses. Prairie Capital and existing shareholders will maintain a minority investment in the company. William Blair acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Upshop.
Upshop is the foremost provider of a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform designed to streamline forecasting, ordering, production, and inventory optimization processes for food retailers.
The cross-office Reed Smith private equity team advising Prairie Capital was led by partners Matthew Mohn and Nicholas Gibson, based in Pittsburgh and Chicago, respectively, and Pittsburgh associates Danielle Scalise, Simone Senior and Chicago associate Crockett Stevenson.
Additional counsel for this transaction was provided by a multidisciplinary, cross-office team of Reed Smith lawyers including:
- Pittsburgh: partners Michelle Mantine, Chris Bouriat, Allison Sizemore, and Jennifer Smokelin; associates Shannon H. Mincemoyer, Nicole Kaplan, and Katie Kramer Tear
- Chicago: partners Arnie Grant, Ben Brimeyer, David Hayes, and William Weltman; associates Sean Birt and Andrew Hado
- Houston: associate Christian Blair
- London: associate McKenna Andrepont
- New York: partner Peter Emmi
- San Francisco: partner Sarah Bruno
- Tysons Corner: partner Ehsan Sanaie
- Washington D.C.: partner Rizzy Qureshi
The practice gives clients up-to-date strategies on leveraged buyouts, growth investments, add-on acquisitions, management buyouts, investment platforms, joint ventures, asset sales and other sophisticated investment strategies
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