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Latham & Watkins Advises The Sterling Group Foundation Fund on Acquisition of Slingmax Group

October 7, 2026
Multidisciplinary team represents the private equity firm in the transaction.

The Sterling Group Foundation Fund (the Foundation Fund), an operationally focused lower middle market private equity firm, has announced the acquisition of Slingmax Group (Slingmax) from River Associates. Slingmax is a leading manufacturer and distributor of engineered sling and rope solutions and related products used for lifting, pulling, and securing applications, and serves end markets that include utilities, power generation, infrastructure, aerospace and defense, marine, mining, and construction. The Foundation Fund will partner with management to build on the company’s leading position and accelerate its growth.

Latham & Watkins LLP represented Sterling in the transaction with a corporate team led by Houston partner Max Klupchak and Washington, D.C. partner Brad Guest, with associates Kevin Donovan, Caroline Silverstein, and Harrison Little. Advice was also provided on tax matters by New York partner Eric Kamerman; on compensation and benefits matters by Washington, D.C. partner Nikhil Kumar, with associates Hayden Rutledge and Christina Schrantz;* on real estate matters by New York counsel Shira Bressler, with associate Brandon Hemans; on intellectual property matters by Boston partner Deborah Hinck, with associate Susana Santos; on data privacy matters by Houston partner Robert Brown, with associate Madhavi Nambiar; on environmental matters by Los Angeles partner Aron Potash, with associate Nathaniel Glynn; on antitrust matters by Washington, D.C. partners Jason Cruise and Patrick English; on labor matters by Chicago partner Nineveh Alkhas, with associate Alexis Pinzon; on sanctions and anti-corruption matters by Washington, D.C. partner Joe Bargnesi; and on representation and warranty insurance matters by Los Angeles partner Harrison White, with associate Sandra Mathew.

*Admitted to practice in Texas only.

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