Guardian Becomes Majority Stakeholder In LEI

Lowe Enterprise Investors and its parent company Lowe Enterprises are parting ways as Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America buys a majority equity interest in the company. As part of the transaction, LEI will rebrand as Broadshore Capital Partners and senior management’s ownership in the company will increase significantly from 6% to 20%. The firm will retain its current staff and offices, and co-CEOs Bradford W. Howe and Bleecker P. Seaman, III, will continue to lead the firm.

“This is a chance for us to consolidate the ownership with a very strong financial partner that believes in our business and that has been an owner is our business for eight years and believes in our management team,” Howe tells GlobeSt.com. “This is also a chance for us to continue to grow our team and provide the same level of high service for our clients.”

Guardian has been a 50% stakeholder in the business since 2010, and as such, this was a natural progression. “This has always been a real possibility,” adds Howe. “As Guardian has gotten to know our team and gotten more comfortable with our team and our strategy, they have come closer to this acquisition. From a management perspective, their involvement in our business is valuable for a number of reasons. They have a great expertise in the financial world and their capital is important to co-investing alongside our clients in certain cases.”