Bicknell takes $85M investment helm; New Mariner funds look to float money to local entrepreneurs

BYLINE: Jason Shaad

Local businessman Martin Bicknell is forming two private equity investment funds worth $85 million.

Bicknell, CEO of Overland Park-based Mariner Wealth Advisors, started raising money for the funds in January. As of May 1, he had received $63 million from five investors -- all from the Kansas City area, he said. He declined to name the investors.

One fund, Mariner Capital Ventures, is fully financed with $10 million in capital. It has one investor and will focus on early-stage companies in a broad range of industries, Bicknell said.

Overland Park-based Positive Networks Inc. is the first, and so far only, beneficiary of Mariner Capital Ventures.

In February, the company received a "material amount" of financing from Mariner Capital Ventures, Positive Networks CEO Tim Sutton said.

Neither Sutton nor Bicknell would disclose the amount, but it was sufficient to cause Positive Networks to add a fifth seat to its board. Dan Henry, former COO of Euronet Worldwide Inc., will fill Mariner's seat on the board.

Bicknell's other fund, Mariner Capital Partners, will make later-stage investments, with a focus on taking a controlling interest in established companies, Bicknell said. Four investors have contributed $53 million. When fully financed, Mariner Capital Partners will have $75 million at its disposal, he said.

Mariner Capital Ventures and Mariner Capital Partners will focus on Midwest investments.

"I have a very high level of interest in local companies," Bicknell said.

The funds are welcome news to local companies, which have had a tough time finding new capital in Kansas City.

The funds join a handful of other local investment groups, including: Mid-America Angels, a local network of 59 wealthy individuals who have contributed $1.4 million to startups since March 2006; Kansas Technology Enterprise Corp., which allocates $1.5 million a year for investments in early-stage companies; Open Prairie Ventures, a $100 million Illinois-based fund with an active Overland Park office; October Capital, a private equity firm founded by former Sprint Corp. COO Ron LeMay; and Cerner Corp. co-founder Cliff Illig's Prairie Wind Angels LLC, founded in 2005.

Sutton said all $3.5 million of Positive Network's previous investment money came from West Coast investors. The software company was ready to sign its latest financing agreement with another West Coast firm before Mariner Capital Ventures stepped in.

"We had always been attracted to the idea of taking some money out of Kansas City," Sutton said. "We immediately liked Marty and his people. We liked the proximity, and we liked the idea of sitting down for impromptu meetings. That was never available to us before."

Positive Networks will use the investment for marketing and selling its services. The company lets clients' employees link to their offices using virtual private networks.

Having another local investor like Mariner in Kansas City could pull in more outside financing, said Joel Wiggins, CEO of the Enterprise Center of Johnson County.

"People who invest from outside of the Kansas City community often want to know if anyone inside Kansas City has invested first," he said. "This increases the opportunity for companies to attract money from outside the region if a local investor takes the lead."

Bicknell will manage both funds for investors, who will serve as general partners.

To assist with management, he has hired Patrick Doherty, a former managing director at A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. in St. Louis, and Kirk Lambright, a Lawrence lawyer.

Bicknell, a senior vice president in A.G. Edwards' Overland Park office before leaving to found Mariner Wealth Advisors, said the Mariner funds don't have any new investments locked up.

"We're in due diligence with several companies, but it's very early," he said.

Bicknell is the son of Gene Bicknell, the founder of the world's biggest Pizza Hut franchise.

Gene Bicknell agreed to sell that company, NPC International Inc., in 2006 for $615 million. Martin and Gene Bicknell have invested together in a 5 percent ownership stake, worth $2.7 million, in Paola-based Team Financial Inc.