Granite Creek and Equivu Capital Announce Sale of Odyssey Aviation
January 30 2025 - 2:47PM
Granite Creek Capital Partners, L.L.C., a private investment firm
based in Chicago, and Equivu Capital, a South Florida-based private
investment firm, today announced the sale of its portfolio company,
Odyssey Aviation U.S. (“Odyssey” or the “Company”), a fixed-base
operator (“FBO”), to Tallvine Partners, an independent investment
firm focused on middle-market infrastructure assets.
Granite Creek invested in Odyssey in 2022 as part of a
shareholder recapitalization led by the Company’s majority owner,
Equivu Capital. In 2023, Granite Creek provided additional capital
to the Company to help fund its acquisition of Golden Isles
Aviation, a fixed-base operator located at St. Simons Island
Airport in St. Simons, GA.
During Granite Creek’s investment period, Odyssey was led by
highly-tenured aviation and FBO executives Sal Calvino, Chairman of
the Board of Odyssey and CEO of Equivu Capital, and Ken Allison,
CEO of Odyssey.
“Sal, Ken, and the entire operating team have transformed
Odyssey into a world-class FBO operator renowned for its
industry-leading customer experience,” said Granite Creek
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Mark Radzik. “We are grateful to
have had the opportunity to partner with Odyssey and look forward
to cheering on the Company’s continued success.”
“We are incredibly proud of the expansion and success we have
achieved at Odyssey,” said Sal Calvino, Chairman of the Board of
Odyssey and Founder of Equivu Capital. “The Granite Creek team
believed in our vision and provided critical support and capital as
we executed on the Company’s long-term strategic goals.”
Odyssey’s growth was further bolstered by Everside Capital
Partners, a New York-based investment firm specializing in building
portfolios of U.S. lower middle market companies through strategic
partnerships with specialized fund managers or direct investments
in operating businesses.
“Everside, alongside its trusted partner Granite Creek, which
led the transaction, was deeply impressed by Sal and his team’s
professional expertise, relentless hard work, and unwavering
dedication to Odyssey’s success,” said Everside’s Co-Founder and
Managing Partner, Moritz Poehl.
About Odyssey Aviation U.S.Odyssey Aviation
U.S. is a fixed-base operator (“FBO”) that provides fuel, hangar
rental, aircraft de-icing, and other services to private aviation
customers and air cargo operators at the Kissimmee Gateway Airport
(ISM) in Kissimmee, FL; Willow Run Airport (YIP) in Ypsilanti, MI;
and McKinnon St. Simons Island Airport (SSI) on St. Simons
Island, GA.
About Granite Creek Capital PartnersFounded in
2005, Granite Creek Capital Partners, L.L.C. is a Chicago-based
private investment firm focused on providing capital and
operational resources to lower middle market companies engaged in
manufacturing, business services, healthcare, and agribusiness.
With an experienced team of investment professionals bringing
expertise in private equity, banking, operations, and business
development, Granite Creek has a successful track record of
investing in and supporting its portfolio companies. Granite Creek
has been named to Inc.’s Founder-Friendly Investors list for five
consecutive years, honoring the private equity and venture capital
firms with the best track record of success backing entrepreneurs.
For more information on Granite Creek, visit www.granitecreek.com
or call 312-895-4500.
About Equivu CapitalFounded in 2020 by
Salvatore Calvino, Equivu Capital is a South Florida-based private
investment firm focused on investing in growing businesses and
bringing a high level of management experience to companies in
which Equivu invests. Equivu provides capital and operational
resources to lower middle market companies in the manufacturing,
aviation and infrastructure services sectors. With expertise in
scaling companies, banking, culture, operations and overall
business development, Equivu and its team have a successful track
record of investing in, growing and supporting its companies. For
more information on Equivu, visit www.equivu.com.
For more media information, contact:
Lisa Hendrickson, LCH Communications for Granite Creek
516-643-1642
lisa@lchcommunications.com