A.V. Jones Jr.

A.V. Jones Jr. was a foundational figure in the Texas independent oil and gas industry and a prolific private equity investor. Born on June 30, 1932, in Albany, Texas, he was the son of a West Texas wildcatter and began working in the oil patch as a teenager. Over a career spanning more than five decades, he built a vast network of energy industry relationships and developed significant technical, operational, and investment expertise across middle-market businesses. He served as president of the West Central Texas Oil and Gas Association, the National Stripper Well Association, and the Independent Petroleum Association of America, testifying before the U.S. Congress multiple times and helping secure passage of the pivotal "Stripper Well Amendment" for independent oil producers.

Jones co-founded Quantum Energy Partners (now Quantum Capital Group) in 1998, a Houston-based private equity firm focused on the energy sector that has raised over $6.5 billion in equity commitments. Prior to Quantum, he made successful venture investments in companies including EnerVest Management Partners, Globex Energy, JM Petroleum Corporation, Taurus Energy Corp., and BC Development. He also helped seed Pennybacker Capital, a real estate private equity firm managing more than $1.8 billion in assets. Through his family office, The Albany Group -- representing the A.V. Jones Jr. and Jean Jones and William E. Tucker Families -- he built a reputation over 50+ years as a trusted partner in private company investing, spanning oil and gas partnerships, direct private equity, and diversified public and private managed accounts.

In 2014, Jones co-founded Alturus Capital alongside Chad Hufsey and Jacob B. Jones to provide flexible, patient family-office-backed capital to lower middle-market companies across the United States. Alturus focuses on majority and minority recapitalizations, executive-led acquisitions, and growth equity investments. A.V. Jones Jr. passed away on July 12, 2020, but his legacy continues through Alturus Capital and The Albany Group, which remain active investment vehicles managed by Jacob Jones and Chad Hufsey. He was also recognized for his philanthropic work in Albany, Texas, contributing to the development of the First National Bank of Albany, the Old Jail Art Center, and quail habitat conservation, for which he received the 2010 Quail Conservation Lifetime Achievement Award from the Texas Wildlife Association Foundation.

Alturus Capital, the firm A.V. Jones Jr. co-founded, operates with a thesis centered on three pillars:

The firm pursues both mature businesses with stable or growing EBITDA and younger high-growth companies with positive profitability, executing majority and minority recapitalizations, executive-led acquisitions, and growth equity transactions.

• Flexible, Patient Capital: Backed by family office sources rather than institutional fund structures, allowing longer hold periods and more creative deal structuring without rigid timeline pressures.
• Operator-Focused Partnership: The firm positions itself as a collaborative partner that works alongside management teams, emphasizing value creation through strategy development, systems refinement, management optimization, organic growth, and operational efficiency.
• Lower Middle-Market Focus: Targeting U.S.-domiciled companies with revenues of $10M--$150M and EBITDA of $3M--$15M across business services, software and tech-enabled services, consumer, specialty distribution, and manufacturing sectors.