Charlesbank Capital Partners invested $14 million in Zoots, a chain of...

Charlesbank Capital Partners invested $14 million in Zoots, a chain of dry cleaners recently established by the founders of Staples. Charlesbank is providing the first institutional financing and is now the largest non-management shareholder of Zoots. The financing will help fund the company’s national expansion, through the opening of Zoots chain stores in major U.S. markets and the acquisition of dry cleaning chains in Cincinnati and metropolitan New York. Zoots was founded in 1998 by Chairman Tom Stemberg, the co-founder and current CEO of Staples, and CEO Todd Krasnow, the former executive vice president, marketing, of Staples. Charlesbank, the successor to Harvard Private Capital Group, is a private investment firm with more than $2.3 billion in capital. Harvard Private Capital was an early investor in Staples.