Main Street Capital backs DMS with $25.6M debt-and-equity follow-on to buy Johnson & Quin

Main Street backs DMS acquisition with structured $25.6 million follow-on

HOUSTON — Main Street Capital Corporation is providing a $25.6 million follow-on investment in portfolio company DMS Holdco LLC to fund DMS’s strategic acquisition of Chicago-based Johnson & Quin, Inc. The financing package, announced in a company release, pairs Main Street with co-investor MSC Income Fund and combines secured debt and direct equity to support an add-on that expands DMS’s print and fulfillment capabilities.

One-stop financing underpins DMS‑J&Q combination

Main Street’s portion of the transaction consists of $20.8 million of first‑lien, senior secured term debt and a $4.8 million direct equity stake, while MSC Income Fund supplies the remaining capital needed for the $25.6 million follow-on. The deal also structures part of the purchase price as equity for J&Q’s owners, keeping them invested in the combined platform and aligning incentives for integration and growth. Main Street originally invested in DMS in February 2018 and positions this round as follow‑on support for a platform it expects to scale through add‑ons.

DMS, founded in 1982, delivers end‑to‑end omni‑channel marketing — strategy, creative, direct mail production, fulfillment and digital — to verticals including FinTech, banking, telecom and technology, and the firm sees the J&Q acquisition as complementary to those capabilities. Johnson & Quin, a family‑owned printing business founded in 1876, brings legacy print expertise and 150 years of continuous operations that Main Street and DMS treat as a strategic asset for customers requiring integrated mail and digital campaigns. Executives frame the acquisition as a means to broaden service offerings and pursue accretive growth across existing end markets.

Background on Main Street’s capital approach

The transaction underscores Main Street’s “one‑stop” approach of providing secured debt and equity to lower middle market companies to finance management buyouts, recapitalizations, growth financings, refinancings and acquisitions. Main Street typically seeks secured positions and often combines secured term loans with equity to align interests with management teams and sellers, a structure it uses repeatedly across platform and add‑on financings.

Firm profile and industry context

As a principal investment firm, Main Street focuses on customized long‑term solutions for companies with annual revenues generally between $10 million and $150 million in its lower middle market portfolio, and $25 million to $500 million for its private loan portfolio. The DMS‑J&Q deal reflects ongoing consolidation trends in B2B marketing services, where integrated print and digital offerings remain attractive to regulated and data‑intensive end markets.