FTV Capital has held a final closing of its oversubscribed fifth fund, FTV V, LP, at the hard cap of $850 million of limited partner commitments. The firm’s fourth fund closed in March 2014 with $700 million of commitments.
“We are pleased to announce the close of FTV V at our $850 million hard cap,” said Richard Garman, FTV Capital Managing Partner and head of the firm’s San Francisco office. “We are grateful for the strong support from our existing investors, and we are excited about the opportunity to collaborate with some terrific new limited partners. We have worked long and hard to build an outstanding team at FTV and an institutionalized model that enables us to deliver consistent returns for our limited partners.”
Fund V will continue the strategy of earlier funds by investing in companies that have $10 million to $100 million in revenue, are growing 20 percent plus annually, and are validated by blue chip enterprise customers and distribution partners. Sectors of particular interest include business services and technology, financial services, and payments and transaction processing.
“The growth equity asset class has distinct characteristics and a risk- return profile that is compelling during all phases of the economic cycle,” said Karen Derr Gilbert, FTV Capital partner in charge of business development and who led the firm’s fundraising efforts. “The appeal of FTV’s growth strategy was underscored by both existing and new investors during our fundraising process. Our limited partner base is diverse across geography, size, and type, including public and corporate pensions, superannuation funds, insurance companies, family offices, and endowments. We greatly appreciate our existing investors who helped us complete this fundraise very quickly, in support of our continued strong investment pipeline, and we welcome our new limited partners to FTV.”
Founded in 1998, FTV Capital has invested in 92 portfolio companies and has raised over $2.7 billion across five funds. Notable exits from FTV’s earlier funds include: CardConnect, merged with publicly traded FinTech Acquisition in 2016 (NASDAQ:CCN); MarketShare, acquired by Neustar in 2015; TrustWave, acquired by Singapore Telecom in 2015; Globant, exited through an IPO in 2014 (NYSE:GLOB); MedSynergies, acquired by Optum/UnitedHealthcare in 2014; and Mu Sigma, sold to shareholders 2012.
“Market inefficiencies, widespread growth in mobility and global ecommerce, heavy regulatory requirements, and massive demand for digitization are all driving opportunities for companies that are more effectively serving markets vacated by incumbents or that are enabling existing players to innovate more rapidly,” said Brad Bernstein, Managing Partner at FTV Capital and head of the firm’s New York office. “We view these long-term trends through the lens of the executives in our Global Partner Network. Our team proactively catalyzes investment opportunities with outstanding management teams who have successfully capitalized on these market dynamics and are looking for a financial sponsor offering deep domain expertise and access to our Global Partner Network to accelerate sales.”
Kirkland & Ellis advised FTV Capital on this fundraise. The Kirkland team was led by investment funds partners Bruce Ettelson and Karin Orsic; and included investment funds partner Matthew Dickman and associates Brian Delaney, Thien Nguyen, Emma Whenham and Courtney Chen; tax partner David Kung and associate Carol Wang; and ERISA partner Laura Bader and of counsel Elizabeth Dyer. Kirkland & Ellis is headquartered in Chicago (www.kirkland.com).
FTV Capital has offices in San Francisco and New York (www.ftvcapital.com).
© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 9-27-16
