FFL Partners (“FFL”), a private equity firm focused on growth investments, today announced that it has completed an investment in Waylin Partners (“Waylin or “the Company”), a leading Office of CFO (“OCFO”) advisory firm providing forward-deployed finance engineers to private equity-backed companies. The investment will be used to accelerate Waylin’s recruitment of best-in-class talent, expand Waylin’s relationships with private equity firms and their portfolio companies, and continue the advancement of the Company’s AI-enabled offerings. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Chicago, Waylin’s unique forward-deployed delivery model serves as an internal extension of the OCFO, providing AI-enabled financial planning and analysis, data engineering & analytics, technical accounting, and performance improvement services for private equity-backed portfolio companies. Founded in 2022, Waylin employs more than 50 forward-deployed finance engineers who embed within portfolio companies’ Office of the CFO and help drive value creation beyond what clients can achieve on their own. The Company has completed more than 300 engagements with portfolio companies since its inception.

“FFL is fortunate to know what great looks like in the private equity-backed Office of the CFO space from our successful investment in Accordion Partners,” said Jonathon Bunt, Partner at FFL. “Waylin’s unique forward-deployed model, senior-level talent, competitive pricing, and AI-enabled approach drives significant value for private equity firms and their portfolio companies, which has allowed Waylin to grow at an unparalleled pace.”

“We’re excited to partner with FFL, a firm known for its expertise in building high-growth tech-enabled services businesses, at a time when sponsor-backed companies are increasingly in need of help across the OCFO, data and AI in order to realize their value creation goals,” said James Willson, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Waylin Partners. “FFL’s partnership will be instrumental in accelerating our next phase of growth, helping us build out our team and advancing our service offerings,” added Spencer Tielens, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Waylin Partners.

“With the support of FFL, Waylin is well-positioned to benefit from industry trends such as longer portfolio company hold periods, the increased importance of Data & AI as a value creation lever, and structural shortages of OCFO talent,” added Lauren Graham, Director at FFL. “This transaction is also another great example of FFL’s ability to identify attractive investment opportunities through our proprietary Sector Exploration and Expertise Development (“SEED”) program.”

FFL’s investment in Waylin is the firm’s second in its Specialty Consulting to Private Capital SEED, following its successful investment in Accordion Partners.

About Waylin Partners

Waylin is a fast-growing Office of the CFO (“OCFO”) consulting firm for private equity-backed companies, helping clients drive value creation beyond what they can achieve on their own. Based in Chicago and founded in 2022, Waylin’s unique forward deployed delivery model serves as an internal extension of the OCFO, providing AI-enabled financial planning and analysis, data engineering & analytics, technical accounting, and performance improvement services for private equity-backed portfolio companies. For additional information, please visit waylin.com

About FFL Partners

FFL Partners is a leading middle-market private equity firm that has been investing in high-quality companies since 1997. Based in San Francisco, FFL is a hyperspecialized, thematic investor focused on targeted areas where the firm has deep expertise and broad networks. FFL employs a proprietary sourcing and value creation strategy called the Sector Exploration and Expertise Development (“SEED”) process. The firm aims to partner with exceptional management teams and employs a high-engagement approach to accelerate growth in its businesses. FFL currently has over $7 billion of cumulative capital commitments. For additional information, please visit fflpartners.com

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