New State Capital Partners has closed its first institutional investment fund, New State Capital Partners Fund, LP, with $131 million in committed capital. Investors include pension funds, foundations, and family offices. With the closing, New State now has over $370 million of assets under management.
New State invests from $10 million to $45 million of equity in companies with $8 million to $25 million of EBITDA. Sectors of interest include healthcare, business services, and industrials. The firm was founded in 2013 by Dave Blechman, a former Managing Director at H.I.G. New State is headquartered near New York City in Larchmont, NY (www.newstatecp.com).
“We are humbled by the strong response to our latest institutional investment fund, and believe that our investments underscore New State’s strength in partnering with growing business while fostering entrepreneurial spirit at all levels,” said Mr. Blechman. “We look forward to identifying new opportunities that can benefit from our nimble, cooperative approach.”
New State Capital currently has five companies in its portfolio: LLMS, the parent company of Bridges Recovery Center and Infinity Malibu, provides treatment services for clients facing substance abuse disorders. LLMS is based in Van Nuys, CA (www.bridgesrecoverycenter.com) (www.infinitymalibu.com); NWN, a provider of IT services and staffing based in Waltham, MA (www.nwnit.com); United Medical Systems, a provider of shared and mobile medical services to hospitals, surgery centers and physician offices, based in the Boston suburb of Westborough (www.ums-usa.com); Gautier Steel, a Johnstown, PA-based operator of three plate and flat bar rolling mills and a specialty metals (stainless steel, and nickel based and titanium alloys) rolling mill (www.gautiersteel.com) (www.gautierspecialty.com); and Central Conveyor Company, a designer and installer of material handling and storage retrieval systems based near Detroit in Wixom, MI (www.centralconveyor.com).
In June 2016 – during the raising of Fund IV – Steve Larned joined the firm as a partner. Mr. Larned has more than 30 years of experience in executive management, strategy consulting and private equity operations across a range of industries, including healthcare, technology services, information/business services, manufacturing and distribution. Prior to joining New State, Mr. Larned was a Senior Operating Executive at Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS) from 2008 to 2016.
Mr. Larned will oversee New State’s behavioral health platform led by its investment in LLMS. “We identified behavioral healthcare as a fast-growing healthcare segment, but one that is very fragmented. More people are struggling with addiction today, but fortunately, many are seeking treatment, which is increasingly covered by health plans. Bridges and Infinity Malibu have stellar reputations for delivering consistent, high quality care, making them an ideal cornerstone of our new platform. We look forward to growing this platform, giving it the geographic footprint needed to become a high quality, scale asset in this space. This is an exciting time to join New State, and I look forward to working with the New State team as we make investments in the behavioral health field and across New State’s other core sectors,” said Mr. Larned.
Prior to his time at WCAS, Mr. Larned was a senior executive at Dell and he started his career at Bain & Company. He has an undergraduate degree in Economics from Duke and an MBA from Harvard.
© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 10-6-16