OPTIO is an American holding company engaged in the long-term principal investment of private capital in conjunction with the provision of specialized services to closely held businesses, high net worth individuals and family offices.
RECENT OPTIO NEWS:
Optio has acquired substantially all of the assets of BookedOut from ShiftGig.
Optio Holdings has acquired substantially all of the assets of Booked Out Technologies from ShiftGig through its subsidiary Dreamview Labs in its effort to build its intellectual property portfolio across multiple industries via its robust matching engine and back-office support capabilities. We are thrilled to add Todd Smith, Jay Lenstrom and Annie Puffer as talented operating partners with a history of building businesses.
OPPORTUNISTIC. ASSET-FOCUSED. VALUE-DRIVEN.
Optio is an American holding company that engages in value investing and advisory services across a diverse set of industries in the U.S. and abroad. We are structured as a merchant banking operation that is specifically focused on developing and nurturing relationships with closely held businesses, UHNW and HNW Individuals, singular and multi Family Offices.
We co-invest and advise family offices and private investors that share in our approach to opportunistic value investing across a multitude of assets and sectors where market prices are impaired by temporal and extrinsic (or non-fundamental) factors. We find value where short-sighted perception causes a disruption, allowing us to invest at an optimal entry point and patiently manage the asset to its full potential.
Optio’s creation in 2019 was inspired by the growth of its predecessor firm, Americus Capital, and the need to re-calibrate under a new brand and structure that appeals to patient, value-seeking investors seeking access to off-market opportunities that provide for a margin of safety, a clear path to current income, asset appreciation and tax efficiency. What remains at the core is our practice of the art of value investing, a discipline that is successful in any market or asset class.
Optio is unique in its ownership of Basis Capital Markets UK Ltd., its affiliate Blockfills, and the management arm of Optio Law, providing our partners and clients a complete offering supported by decades of relationship building to effectuate strategies that thrive in a fast-changing investment ecosystem.
“OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS, WE HAVE STAYED AHEAD OF AN EVOLVING GLOBAL ECONOMY; SOURCING, STRUCTURING AND EXECUTING ON OVER $1.5 BILLION IN OFF-MARKET TRANSACTIONS ACROSS MULTIPLE ASSET CLASSES AND SECTORS AS A VALUED PARTNER TO SOME OF THE LEADERS AND EMERGING LEADERS IN PRIVATE INVESTMENT.”
COMPANY HISTORY
Born Into Chaos, Bred to Survive the (Un)expected
2009 - 2010
CREDIT CRISIS
- Optio’s predecessor, Americus Capital is founded by Joseph Simon in an effort to expand family holdings outside of industrial services and into tax advantaged opportunities in hard assets and financial services.
- In conjunction with Granite Construction and former bank executives, joins joint venture to assist hedge funds and banks in the acquisition/reclassification/disposition of non and sub performing commercial real estate, construction and commercial and industrial loans
- Partners included Varde Partners and Colony Capital
- Group responsible for over $800 Million in advisory assignments backstopped by proprietary software used to evaluate large amounts of loan data in a short time frame via a searchable database
- Americus identifies some stabilization and begins to focus on data that suggests multifamily acquisition using long term, low rate agency debt is the next large capital inflow of the recovery cycle
2011 - 2014
CREATION OUT OF CHAOS
- Americus sourced, structured and executed a $100mm acquisition of Austin/San Antonio new construction multifamily along the I-35 Corridor connecting Austin to San Antonio
- Assisted private equity funds and companies in acquiring distressed assets in the global manufacturing space (print media, automotive and RTA furniture)
- Begin looking at ground up development in major MSAs ahead of institutional capital inflows
- Site select and lead the acquisition and horizontal development with Gerding Edlen Green Cities Fund II, LP to develop the http://livejoneschicago.com/ (completed in 2015) – DISTRESSED PURCHASE; COMPLEX EQUITY RESTRUCTURING
- Completes second land acquisition with Gerding Edlen Green Cities Fund II, LP via a negotiated discounted payoff with the Seller and Seller’s Bank, PUD in place for 280 unit development, http://livexavier.com/, completed in 2016 – DISTRESSED PURCHASE; TOLLED PUD SUNSET
- Acquired from Baupost and flipped to Southwest Value Partners, $52 Million Tech Park in Chandler, AZ (Continuum)
- Secured $100mm Forward Purchase Agreement from Macquarie Bank to acquire up to $200 Million in residential P.A.C.E. Bonds from leader in PACE specialty finance industry
2015 - 2020
LEVERAGE. RINSE. REPEAT.
- Americus acquires 1300-1308 W. Randolph out of a bankruptcy settlement for $300/Land Square Ft, secures 100% financing and sells at a year and a day for a Fulton Market record $625/Land Square Ft.
- Americus completes third land acquisition with Gerding Edlen Green Cities Fund III, LP via an off-market transaction with a legacy owner, develops the EMME (emmechicago.com) and sells off the office while retaining surplus air rights.
- Americus completes sale and lease-back with a Texas state agency on a 20 year lease utilizing 125% LTC CTL bond financing that was self-amortizing. The portfolio of six industrial properties were all located within the Dallas beltway. Americus exited the investment in 2017 in an off-market sale to a foreign buyer.
- Americus acquires 400 N May, a 78,000 sf parcel located in Fulton Market. The area PMD is lifted and Americus experiences immediate appreciation by benefitting from an additional 700,000 sf of buildable FAR. We took NOI from $400,000 to $1mm in 8 months and performed a cost segregation study to accelerate depreciation. We should be able to refi out our paid in capital in Q1 2020.
- Basis Capital Markets UK Ltd. Is founded by Joseph Simon and Nick Hammer and we are approved for an FCA license authorizing full permissions as a broker-dealer. Basis specializes in OTC derivatives for a global customer base and has since created Blockfills to centrally clear crypto-currency.
E D G E
A DYNAMIC CAPITAL MARKETS ECOSYSTEM
Optio was curated to satisfy the pent up demand in the private investment world for ACCESS to an institutional quality merchant bank built for family owned businesses and HNW and UHNW family offices and individuals. By combining financial technologies, legal capabilities, diverse liquidity and an FCA licensed broker-dealer, Optio is capable of being a single call solution with third party oversight for added security. Our services ancillary to our core offering of capital management include a dedicated concierge for anything from travel reservations, private aviation, private club access to more than 100 renowned golf, country and sporting clubs as well as the arrangement of personal security.
A P P R O A C H
WE PRIDE OURSELVES ON INVESTING AHEAD OF MAJOR INSTITUTIONAL CAPITAL INFLOWS. THROUGH FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH, THEME-IDENTIFICATION AND “MARGIN OF SAFETY” EXECUTION, WE PRESERVE PRINCIPAL WHILE MAKING HIGH CONVICTION INVESTMENTS.
“It sounds kind of crazy, but in times of turmoil in the market, I’ve felt a sort of serenity in knowing that I’ve checked and re-checked my work, one plus one still equals two regardless of where a stock trades right after I buy it.”
Optio’s investment objective is to identify and capitalize on market distress, disruption and technology driven growth in a highly volatile modern market where the velocity and degree of short-term perception-driven-swings create investment opportunities. We aim to capture unique opportunities that arise from: capital market volatility, regulatory complexity, short-termism and the accelerated pace of innovation. These opportunities will materialize as the FED, capital-constrained financial institutions, corporations and other holders of assets restructure their balance sheets, divest platforms and assets and seek alternative means of capital investment. Fewer capital providers, the repositioning of financial institutions due to market conditions, and restrictive and costly regulations should lead to an attractive environment for stable and committed investors, particularly those with access to long-term flex capital.
I N V E S T M E N T TENETS
“I’m always thinking about losing money as opposed to making money. Don’t focus on making money, focus on protecting what you have.”
P E O P L E
Our people represent an average of 20 years experience in complementary skill sets honed at some of the most prestigious global institutions
Valued Partners
INVESTMENT PROGRAMS & SERVICES
P O R T F O L I O
