Exclusive: The Walton family-funded PE firm that owns Rapha Cycling Club presses pause on all new investments
RZC Investments, the private equity firm of Walmart heirs Tom and Steuart Walton, has paused new investments and is reconsidering the future structure of the fund, according to two people familiar with the matter. A spokesperson from RZC confirmed the pause.
One of RZC’s two partners, Don Huffner, left the fund last year and is in the process of giving up his board seats, according to the two people, who Fortune granted anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak about the firm.
RZC is a multi-stage fund based in Walmart’s hometown, Bentonville, Ark., and funded by the two grandchildren of Walmart founder Sam Walton. Steuart Walton is a current member of the retail giant’s board. The fund made both majority and minority investments, with a focus on outdoor companies. It acquired the British cycling apparel company Rapha Cycling Club in 2017 for reportedly around $260 million, and made minority investments in the cycling GPS company Wahoo Fitness and the American bicycle company Allied Cycle Works.
A spokesperson for the fund said RZC had approached its investments, in part, as a way to bring more investors and operators into the Northwest Arkansas region and broader state. “That posture and commitment continues as we actively manage our current portfolio and evaluate the best structure for future investment activity,” they said.
It’s unclear exactly why RZC Investments is pausing its investment activities. While RZC confirmed the fund was pausing new investments, it wouldn’t comment on why. The outdoor industry—and particularly the cycling industry—has been battered by tariffs and declining sales in recent years. Rapha has posted losses each year since RZC acquired the company in 2017. The bicycle company Allied was one of a few U.S. companies to manufacture its bicycle frames in the U.S., but it announced it was moving future manufacturing to Asia not long before President Trump announced widespread tariffs.
RZC has made other investments, too, including in Acres, a Fayetteville, Ark.-based land data and mapping startup that sold the brokerage part of its business last summer.
Matt Tarver, RZC’s other partner, continues to oversee the RZC portfolio, governance, and investment relationships.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com