BackFrontenac Ranked 5th in HEC Paris-Dow Jones Small Cap Buyout Performance Report
Chicago, IL
Frontenac, a Chicago-based private equity firm, has been recognized for the fifth consecutive year as part of the HEC Paris-Dow Jones Small Cap Buyout Performance Ranking. The latest 2025 report places Frontenac at its highest ranking to date, coming in 5th among 695 small cap buyout firms evaluated. In prior years, Frontenac was ranked 9th in 2024 and 2023 (among more than 600 firms evaluated each year) and 14th in 2022 and 2021 (among more than 500 firms evaluated each year).
Now in its fifth year, the HEC Paris-Dow Jones ranking is based on a quantitative performance analysis of the world’s small-cap private equity firms over a 10-year period. In its 2025 analysis, HEC Paris evaluated comprehensive performance data from 695 private equity firms and the 1,439 funds they raised between 2012 and 2021
“Frontenac is proud to receive this recognition from HEC Paris-Dow Jones for a fifth consecutive year,” said Michael Langdon, Managing Partner. “Our team focuses on pairing experienced leadership talent with companies in our target sectors, with the goal of driving durable value creation and generating strong outcomes for our investors. This ranking reflects the continued efforts of the teams at both Frontenac and our portfolio companies to execute against these objectives.”
About Frontenac
Frontenac is a Chicago-based private equity firm. The firm focuses on investing in lower middle market buyout transactions in the consumer, industrial, and services industries. Frontenac works in partnership with established operating leaders, through an executive-centric approach called CEO1ST®, which seeks to identify, acquire, and build market-leading companies through transformational acquisitions and operational excellence. Over the last 55+ years, Frontenac has built a franchise working with over 350 owners of mid-sized businesses as they address complex transition issues of liquidity, management enhancement, and growth planning. For more information, please visit www.frontenac.com.
About HEC Paris
Founded in 1881, HEC Paris is a leading European Business School. Its ambition is to positively impact both businesses and society thanks to its three-pronged approach “Think, Teach, Act” and thus to contribute to a more inclusive, sustainable and prosperous world. With 178 research professors from all around the world producing and teaching unique knowledge to more than 4,500 students from 135 different countries, the HEC Paris campus serves as a laboratory for innovation and exchange which is open to the world’s diversity and challenges.
Disclaimer
The 2025 Mid-Market HEC Paris-Dow Jones Small Cap Buyout Performance Ranking, published on May 18, 2026, was led by HEC Paris Professor Oliver Gottschalg and produced by HEC Paris-Dow Jones, neither of which are affiliated with Frontenac. Performance data was compiled from Preqin and directly from PE firms. Rankings are based on a proprietary methodology that calculates aggregate performance of a PE firm across vintage years and considers relative and absolute returns. Frontenac did not pay a fee to receive this award. Reference to an award is only one piece of information relevant to an evaluation of an investment adviser such as Frontenac. This award represents information as of a specific date and time and may not reflect important information related to an evaluation of the investment adviser which has occurred prior to, or subsequent to, the award.
