May 26, 2022   SOURCE: BusinessWire

One of Chicago’s Top Private Equity Firms, Red Arts Capital, Continues Growth By Adding Two Key Team Members

Red Arts Capital, LLC (“Red Arts Capital”), a leading middle-market, sector-focused private equity investment firm and preferred investment partner for family-owned supply chain-related businesses, announced the expansion of its team with the addition of Christopher DeLetto as Vice President and Indra Santhiapillai as the firm’s new Executive Assistant. The new hires come on the heels of two other additions to the firm, as the Red Arts team recently landed another VP, Michael Henkels, and Chief of Staff, Danielle Gerbie.

DeLetto comes to Red Arts Capital after spending time as an investment professional at Grey Mountain Partners in Boulder, Colorado, a $550M+ AUM asset management firm where he was responsible for sourcing, evaluating, executing and managing investments. Prior to Grey Mountain, Christopher worked at Duff & Phelps as part of their investment banking team. He began his career at Alvarez & Marsal in their strategy and management consulting practice. Christopher received a B.S. in Finance from the University of Illinois.

“I am very excited to be joining Red Arts Capital. The firm’s disciplined investment philosophy, targeted industry focus, and deep relationships across the supply chain industry have proven to be very successful,” says Christopher DeLetto. “I am looking forward to building upon the foundation that Nick Antoine and Chad Strader, Red Arts Capital Co-Founders, have laid over the last seven years.”

DeLetto’s responsibilities at Red Arts Capital will include deal sourcing, investment evaluation and execution, and monitoring investments.

Joining DeLetto at the rapidly expanding firm is Indra Santhiapillai. Santhiapillai comes to Red Arts with a strong background in investment industry administration, having held a similar role as an Administrative Assistant supporting the team at Hines, a large $90B+ AUM real estate investment company. Indra holds a Bachelor of International Business with a minor in Management from Wichita State University.

“Having Christopher and Indra join the Red Arts team is incredibly exciting. Both will be crucial pieces of the team as we continue to grow,” said Nicholas Antoine, Co-CEO, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Red Arts Capital.

Led by two diverse Co-CEOs Nick Antoine and Chad Strader, Red Arts Capital has found success through producing outsized returns on investments made in the supply chain and logistics industries. Red Arts’ most recent deal was the sale of Midwest Motor Express to Knight-Swift Transportation generating a nearly 8.0x gross multiple on invested capital and over a 6.0x multiple, net of fees, for its investors. Overall, the firm’s pre-fund portfolio has generated nearly a 7.0x gross multiple on invested capital, and a 5.3x net multiple as of March 14, 2022, placing it in the top 1.4% of nearly 5,000 private equity buyout managers over 10 years of data, according to Preqin’s database. 1

It’s because of results like these that the Red Arts team is receiving serious backing from Mario Gabelli as an LP and legendary Chicago investor, John W Rogers Jr.

  1. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Net performance is net of all fees. Partially realized value of all equity dollars in each platform strategy. Calculated as of March, 14 2022. All estimates have been internally calculated. Additional information regarding the calculation of performance is available upon request

About Red Arts Capital

Based in Chicago, Illinois, Red Arts Capital is a leading investment firm focused on supply chain-related, transportation and logistics businesses. Red Arts Capital seeks to partner with and invest in privately-owned, primarily family-owned, and multi-generational businesses with solid business fundamentals and a strong track record and reputation. With sector expertise and a commitment to stewardship and excellence, Red Arts Capital’s approach earns the firm a trusted seat at the table with portfolio companies, investors and partners. For more information, please visit: www.redartscapital.com.