Align Collaborate

Align Collaborate was honored to receive two awards at this year’s iGlobal Forum Independent Sponsor Summit in Miami. The awards are voted on by a panel of industry experts and prior year winners – making it a true honor to receive. Collaborate won the awards for Innovation in Structuring and Capital Provider of the Year. Congratulations to Michael Kornman, Grant Kornman, Kurt Smentek, Scott Weiss and Cian Kelly for the recognition which highlights the team’s goal of being an Independent Sponsor’s first call for equity capital. 

We are pleased to celebrate Kurt Smentek's recent promotion to Principal. Kurt has contributed immensely since the launch of Align Collaborate last year. Kurt's top-tier skills in deal evaluation and execution have been invaluable in our first full year.  We are excited about the future with him on the team helping to serve the needs of deal-by-deal investors. Way to go, Kurt!

It was great to have the entire Align Collaborate team together at this year’s McGuireWoods LLP Independent Sponsor Conference in Dallas. The event also coincided with the 1 year anniversary of Collaborate’s official launch.  We enjoyed celebrating this milestone with hundreds of familiar faces – and were excited to meet many new investors as well!   Reach out to Michael Kornman, Grant Kornman, Kurt Smentek, Scott Weiss or Cian Kelly to learn more about how Align Collaborate helps deal-by-deal investors by providing flexible equity capital.

Align Collaborate is pleased to announce it completed an equity investment in Carlton Industrial Solutions. Carlton is a leading provider of calibration, repair and automation services for mission-critical industrial weighing, precision measurement, crane & hoist and safety training solutions to customers across a variety of regulated end markets. “Carlton is a market leader with a long history of success and a highly experienced management team.  We are thrilled to to be part of this investment,” said Align Collaborate Partner Michael Kornman. “At Collaborate, we strive to support high-performing sponsors with a flexible, partnership-centric approach and we are excited to be a part of this rapidly growing company,” said Align Collaborate Partner Grant Kornman.

Align Collaborate is thrilled to announce the closing of its first equity investment to support the recapitalization by Valedor Partners and Acacia Advisors of a leading value-added distributor of parts, accessories and other supplies to the label and mid-web printing industry.  The company is actively pursuing add-on acquisitions. Congratulations to Michael Kornman, Grant Kornman, Kurt Smentek and Scott Weiss on the transaction. Contact the team to learn more about Collaborate’s purpose-built strategy for supporting the unique needs of those investing on a deal-by-deal basis. 

Thank you McGuireWoods LLP for featuring Align Collaborate in your recent Independent Sponsor Spotlight interview with Grant Kornman and Michael Kornman. Check out the full article linked here for perspectives around why deal by deal investing has grown in popularity, and how Align Collaborate can help support these transactions with flexible equity capital solutions.

Align Collaborate is thrilled to welcome Cian Kelly to their growing team! Cian is based in the Cleveland office of Align and will be supporting Michael Kornman, Grant Kornman, Kurt Smentek and Scott Weiss in the evaluation of new opportunities to provide flexible equity capital to independent sponsors.

Align Collaborate is pleased to announce the promotion of Scott Weiss to Senior Associate.   “Scott has been an important contributor to the launch of the Collaborate strategy, and we are excited as he continues to develop his investment acumen and helps catalyze new opportunities with our independent sponsor partners,” said Collaborate Partner Grant Kornman. “Scott has been an integral part of our team since he joined us at our prior firm. His tenacity and ability to add value is unparalleled, and we look forward to having him continue his journey as a Senior Associate,” said Collaborate Partner Michael Kornman.   Scott joined Align Collaborate at its inception in 2023 and is a valued deal team member.