Sterling Group Foundation Fund buys rigging maker Slingmax from River Associates

The Sterling Group's lower middle market Foundation Fund has acquired Slingmax Group, an Aston, Pennsylvania-based manufacturer and distributor of engineered slings and rope solutions for lifting, pulling and securing. Seller River Associates built the platform from Yale Cordage in 2020, adding I&I Sling and Slingmax in 2023 and Wisconsin Lifting Specialists in June 2026; the deal closed September 30 and is River's fourth exit of 2026.

Why it matters: A textbook lower-middle-market buy-and-build exit, with River reporting 4.6x aggregate EBITDA growth across its four 2026 realizations.