New York City-based Environmental Capital Partners LLC (ECP) announced today that it has formed a relationship with New York Private Bank & Trust (NYPB&T) to invest $100 million in middle-market green companies. ECP says it is interested in green consumer products, eco-friendly building materials, alternative energy and industrial environmental services. The firm is seeking growth and buyout transactions that require equity investments of $10 million to $25 million, but the firm has the ability to complete larger transactions.
ECP will be led by managing partners William Staudt, an entrepreneur with extensive private equity and operating experience, and Robert Egan, formerly of J.P. Morgan Partners LLC. In addition to Egan and Staudt, the firm's partners include Stephen Kellert, a senior professor at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and Michael Richter, a recognized figure in the environmental community. Christopher Staudt, a private equity professional with experience in grassroots environmental programming, has joined ECP as a principal. Â
Howard Milstein, president and CEO of NYPB&T, and Barry Friedberg, a director of NYBP&T, and the former chairman of the investment banking division and member of the executive management committee at Merrill Lynch & Co., will serve on ECP's investment committee along with Egan and Staudt.
