About Us

In 2003, the partners of 1848 Capital Partners LLC, Joe DaGrosa Jr., John Sicilian and David Neithardt, joined with a group of investors to form Heartland Food Corp., a platform company used to acquire two hundred and forty-eight (248) Burger King restaurants out of bankruptcy and workout situations. Over three years, Heartland became the second largest franchisee in the Burger King system. Heartland was successfully sold in December 2006 to GSO Capital Partners, now an affiliate of the Blackstone Group.

Following the success of the Heartland transaction, 1848 raised capital in 2007 to launch Big Apple Apple Entertainment Partners LLC, which owns and operates the Ripley's Believe It or Not! visitor attraction in New York's Times Square.  The 1848 team has since added seven other companies to its portfolio including four operating companies under the umbrella of Sunbelt Diversified Enterprises, a second Ripley's Believe It or Not! in London's Piccadilly Circus and Jet Support Services, Inc., the world's largest independent provider of hourly cost maintenance programs for private jet engines and airframes which was purchased in partnership with RH Book LLC. 

Most recently, 1848 branched into the Latin American infrastucture market with a control investment in Brazil Tower Company, LP. Brazil Tower Company has its base of operations in Sao Paulo, Brazil and will be building communications sites throughout Brazil in the coming years.

Since 2003, the partners have invested and managed over $250 million in personal and investor capital. Looking forward, 1848 anticipates investing more than $150 million over the next few years in Brazil Tower Company and other control investments in the US and Latin America.