McLarty Capital Partners (MCP), a private capital provider to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), has rebranded as The Firmament Group (Firmament).

The new name reflects the firm’s evolution from an extension of the McLarty family office to a global investment platform focused on turning small business into big business. Firmament provides tailored debt and equity capital solutions directly to SMEs in the form of unitranche senior debt, junior debt, structured equity and common equity.

MCP was founded in 2012 by Franklin McLarty and Christopher Smith to support the robust capital needs of small businesses, a traditionally underserved portion of the economy. Firmament’s investments are designed to lead to superior, non-correlated returns for its limited partners. To date, the firm has closed over 40 initial and follow-on investments totaling nearly $400 million of investment capital.

“Many entrepreneurs aspire to grow their businesses and are acutely aware of the need for capital to achieve their goals. However they often find flexible capital isn’t readily available. Like the expanse that is visible, protective and transparent, the name ‘firmament’ symbolizes the close relationships we have with our portfolio companies. We have always helped entrepreneurs and business owners realize their goals by offering practical capital solutions in the most versatile and user-friendly manner,” said Franklin McLarty, co-founder and co-president of The Firmament Group.

“In the decade following the financial crisis, many business owners have diminished access to needed capital and lack the guidance to maximize its utility. As a result, entrepreneurs often settle for an imperfect outcome by taking on too much inflexible debt or more equity dilution than desired,” added Christopher Smith, Co-Founder and Co-President of The Firmament Group. “By leveraging our deep industry expertise and our extensive global network, we offer unique, integrated and customized solutions that empower small businesses.”