James Patterson Becomes Sole Owner of Colortree Group

In a transaction that closed last month, Stingem Management Group LLC acquired Boathouse Capital’s 72 percent stake in Colortree Group, a full service manufacturer of envelope products and print services for the direct mail industry. As a result of this deal, James “Pat” Patterson, Colortree Group’s president and CEO, is now the sole owner of the company.

According to a press release, Boathouse Capital originally invested debt and equity to facilitate the management buyout of Colortree in 2011. During Boathouse Capital’s five-year investment, Colortree expanded its operations facility and rounded out its leadership team with the additions of Terry Manis as chief financial officer and William Mack as vice president of human resources.

The company also attributes its growth to Patterson’s business acumen. Through an acquisition and organic growth strategy, Colortree Group welcomed 50 new employees since 2011, increasing the staff size to 235. Furthermore, revenue grew from $32 million to $60 million. As the new sole owner, Patterson’s goal is to make Colortree Group the “best litho product provider in the direct mail industry.”

"Pat Patterson has proven to be an outstanding CEO with a clear vision of how to grow his business,” Ken Jones, general partner for Boathouse Capital, said in a statement. “I'm grateful to have had an opportunity to back Pat and the rest of his team, and am pleased to produce a solid return for our investors.”

Patterson subscribes to an operating philosophy based on the Theory of Constraints (TOC), a methodology for identifying core problems, or constraints, that stand in the way of achieving goals and working to improve those constraints until they no longer hinder progress. Patterson, a certified Jonah in the discipline, is looking forward to carrying out his vision for the company.

“Boathouse proved to be a valuable resource that empowered us to build upon our existing platform as we worked towards achieving our goals,” Patterson said. “We are thrilled to begin our next chapter and are committed to helping our customers succeed."