Minera Partners
Who We Are
Minera Partners invests in critical technologies and high-specification industrial businesses. We provide growth and strategic capital to select private and public companies and pursue control investments where our operating experience and patient capital can help build enduring businesses.
Dual-use remains a core lens across our work. We are especially interested in commercially relevant technologies and industrial capabilities that can also address important national security, government, and infrastructure needs.
Our team combines decades of experience in investing, manufacturing operations, M&A, public companies, and capital markets. We partner with founders, owners, and management teams to support growth, strengthen operations, and create long-term value.
How We Invest
We pursue opportunities through two complementary strategies:
- Growth & Strategic Investments - Minority and structured investments in private and public companies with differentiated technology, commercial validation, and significant growth potential.
- Control Investments & Platform Building - Acquisitions of established industrial businesses where we can support management, invest in people, equipment, and systems, and build broader capabilities organically and through add-on acquisitions.
Across both strategies, we favor foundational 'picks-and-shovels' businesses that enable critical commercial, industrial, and national security applications.
How We Partner
- Flexible Partnership - Capital and transaction structures tailored to the needs of the company, its owners, and shareholders.
- Practical Operating Support - Hands on assistance with strategy, operations, commercial development, capital formation, governance, and building scalable systems.
- Long-Term Orientation - A patient approach centered on preserving what works while building the capabilities required for the company’s next stage.
Investment Focus
We target companies at the intersection of technology, manufacturing, and security, including:
- Precision Manufacturing & Industrial Technology - Strengthening domestic production of complex, high-specification components and systems.
- Cybersecurity, Communications & Digital Trust - Protecting data, identities, and resilient networks.
- Sensors, RF Systems & Autonomy - Enabling connected, mission-critical systems.
- Artificial Intelligence & Data Infrastructure - Supporting secure compute, decision-making, and automation.
- Power & Energy Systems - Enabling reliable, efficient operations on and off the grid.
What We Look For
- Differentiated technology, specialized capabilities, or a defensible market position
- Meaningful customer demand, commercial validation, or durable customer relationships
- Strong management with an opportunity to scale, improve, or institutionalize the business
- Founders and owners seeking growth capital, strategic partnership, partial liquidity, succession, or a long-term home for their business
Featured Investment Focus: Precision Manufacturing
Minera is building a scaled U.S. precision-manufacturing platform serving demanding industrial, aerospace, and defense customers. We seek to partner with exceptional manufacturers, preserve the people and customer relationships that made them successful, and add the capital, systems, and resources to support their next chapter.
- Preserve - Protect the local identity, customer relationships, skilled workforce, and practical know-how that define the business.
- Support - Provide patient capital, operating resources, and experienced partnership without imposing a one-size-fits-all integration model.
- Build - Create broader capabilities, stronger systems, and new opportunities while keeping accountability close to customers and employees.
Why Partner With Us
- Deep Domain Expertise: Experienced in navigating complex defense procurement and funding programs
- Extensive Network: Access to government, industry, and financial partners across sectors
- Operational Experience: Veteran operators who understand scaling and risk management
- Aligned Partnership: Collaborative, transparent, and focused on driving sustainable growth
Who We Are
Our Team
Minera Partners is led by Tim Foufas and Mike Ferrantino, who have worked together since 2019 on investment, operating, and public-company transformation initiatives at LGL Group (NYSE: LGL) and M-tron Industries (NYSE: MPTI). Together, they combine transaction execution, manufacturing operations, capital formation, governance, and institutional leadership.
Their manufacturing experience includes helping guide M-tron Industries through its evolution from an LGL subsidiary into an independent public aerospace and defense manufacturer.
Their experience spans private equity, operations, sales & marketing and capital markets, with a proven record of creating shareholder value in technology and industrial sectors. They are supported by a network of advisors and strategic partners across defense, manufacturing, and finance.
Michael Ferrantino
An experienced industrial executive and board member with a career spanning manufacturing, technology, and public-company leadership. He most recently served as Chief Executive Officer and Director of M-tron Industries, Inc., and previously as President, CEO, and Director of The LGL Group, Inc. (NYSE: LGL). He also served on the board of LGL Systems Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: DFNS). Earlier in his career, he held senior leadership positions at InterEx, Inc., CTS Corporation, and Valpey Fisher Corporation.
Michael serves on the boards of The Gabelli ETFs Trust, The Gabelli Equity Trust, and The Gabelli Utility Trust. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Loyola University Maryland.
Tim Foufas
A seasoned investor and operating executive with more than 30 years of experience across private equity, M&A, corporate strategy, capital markets, and public-company governance. He has held senior leadership and board roles at public and private companies, including LGL Group (NYSE: LGL), PMV Consumer Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: PMVC), and LGL Systems Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: DFNS).
Tim earned his MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and a BA from Boston College. He is also active in philanthropy, having served on the John G. Shedd Aquarium Auxiliary Board and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago Guild Board.