Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital

Overview
Meet The Team
Investment Criteria
Portfolio
Strategy
Insights

Overview

Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital is a private investment platform targeting late-stage growth equity and credit investments in technology, healthcare, consumer, digital media and other high-growth sectors.

The Expansion Platform specializes in making equity and credit investments via a single platform in technology and other high-growth sectors, such as healthcare, digital media, e-commerce, consumer and business services. Our team predominantly invests in North America and Western Europe. Our focus is on late-stage private companies, largely with established products and services addressing established markets seeking capital to scale revenue and expand business operations. Our capital is intended to serve as a company’s last required round of financing before they become profitable or exit.

In addition to capital, the team relies on its industry experience to drive strategic growth, improve board governance, optimize capital structures, enhance operational efficiency, recruit senior executives and advise on strategic and financial liquidity. We seek to leverage the Morgan Stanley global brand, insights, resources and relationships in all our investment activities.

Investments typically range from $20 million - $60 million per transaction across either equity or credit but there may be additional size flexibility through syndicate and co-investor relationships. On the equity side, our platform affords us the flexibility to evaluate a variety of opportunity types, including first institutional situations, growth carve-outs, non-auction follow-ons, and founder / employee liquidity. On the credit side, our long-term interest-only senior secured structure allows us to provide companies with an attractive substitute for traditional growth equity capital while providing Expansion Credit with ample enterprise value coverage. Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital typically leads investments, but will also co-lead and participate in syndicated opportunities.

We generally do not take controlling ownership positions, so our investment strategy is predicated upon a partnership framework with founders, management teams and fellow investors. Value creation is driven by growth with a particular focus on capital efficiency and demonstrated unit economics.

Expansion Capital’s Advisory Partners provide an additional resource across our investment portfolio. Advisory Partners often participate in the examination of investment opportunities, serve on company boards, share their market and business insights, and consult with portfolio founders and management to drive growth throughout the life cycle of an investment.

Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital and its predecessors have invested in the growth sectors for over three decades. We believe we are unique in our ability to offer private equity or credit investments to late-stage growth companies with the flexibility to lead or syndicate investments. Our investment team and our portfolio companies benefit from Morgan Stanley's global resources, network, and franchise. Our long tenure and unique relationship with Morgan Stanley afford our portfolio companies unparalleled access to thought leaders, industry experts, operational expertise, and managerial talent. We believe that our experience and reputation enables us to build market leaders which are more valuable and better positioned, and thus able to drive outcomes which maximize exit value for our companies and our investors.