A number of Utah's homegrown and decidedly lower-tech ventures are getting some serious dough, including Handi Quilter of Bountiful, which announced Wednesday that it has received a $3.5 million investment from Utah private equity firm Peterson Partners. With the investment, Peterson will take over management of the quilting company.

Deals like Handi Quilter are becoming more common nationwide and in Utah, said Brad Bertoch, co-chairman of the MountainWest Capital Network's UtahDeal Flow Report.

According to the report, to be released today, financing deals in Utah rose from $3.9 billion in 2004 to $9.2 billion last year. The report covers a variety of deals, including venture capital investments, mergers and acquisitions and public offerings.

"There is more money available than ever for companies in the $15 million to $50 million revenue range, including those you wouldn't think of as candidates for venture capital," Bertoch said. "Investment companies are adding some money and value into these small- to medium-size companies and either selling them or taking them public later."

More than ever, he said, entrepreneurs and small-business owners who want to cash out of their enterprises and move on to something else can do so - at an attractive price. "It's a great time to sell a business," Bertoch said. "It's a seller's market."

In Handi Quilter's case, Utah quilter and company founder Laurel Barrus will remain a consultant in the company she founded in 1999. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Barrus, who designed a quilting machine called the HQ Sixteen, went on to grow the company into a significant manufacturer of quilting machines, tables and other supplies for quilting enthusiasts. As part of the deal with Peterson Partners, seasoned executive Mark Hyland was appointed CEO.

Jason Reading, partner with Peterson Partners of Salt Lake City, said the company was attracted to Handi Quilter for a number of reasons. It is profitable, has the potential to expand its product offerings greatly and is operating in a fast-growing industry.

"It was a great local success story," he said.

Peterson Partners plans to expand Handi Quilter's products, related items such as DVDs and books as well as seminars and retreats for quilters. The private equity firm invested earlier in Utah-based Making Memories, a scrap book supply company, which was sold about a year ago to another private equity company.

Founded in 1995, Peterson Partners of Salt Lake City specializes in later-stage, profitable, small to medium-size businesses. It had more than $300 million under management through four funds.

Last year, Peterson joined another venture capital company, Dolphin II, in investing in Winder Dairy, one of Utah's oldest businesses. Under terms of that deal, the two companies took management positions in the dairy, which has delivered milk door-to-door for 125 years and now serves 17,000 customers from St. George to Brigham City.

Another homegrown Utah company - and lower-tech venture - that has received money over the past year is Kiddie Kandids.

In May 2005, private equity fund Sorenson Capital announced plans to invest in the portrait studio chain, which specializes in photographing children.

The company does have tech-based underpinnings, however. It adopted digital photography in 1998 - well ahead of many other portrait studios - and carved a niche in providing portraits to customers on the spot. Many studios today still are film-based and require customers to wait up to several weeks to get their portraits.

Venture capital boost

Who: Peterson Partners, a private equity firm, is taking over management of Handi Quilter of Bountiful

How: With a $3.5 million investment in the company

History: Peterson Partners was founded in 1995. It is one of two companies that took over management of Winder Dairy last year.