Marlin Equity Partners has held first and final closings of Marlin Equity V, LP with $2.5 billion of capital commitments, and Marlin Heritage II, LP with $750 million of capital commitments. Both of the new funds were oversubscribed and closed at their hard caps and surpassed their respective targets of $2.0 billion and $500 million in less than five months. The combined $3.25 billion of new capital marks the largest pool of capital raised by the firm since it was established in 2005.
“The successful closings of Fund V and Heritage II allow us to further capitalize on the investment opportunities we are currently seeing in the middle and lower middle markets, and clearly reflect the strength of our differentiated approach to growing and transforming businesses through operational best practices,” said David McGovern, the Managing Partner of Marlin. “We are proud to have built a successful global organization that is supported by a top-notch institutional investor base of long-standing existing and new limited partners, and a talented team of professionals with deep domain expertise across our core industries.”
Marlin invests in businesses that have revenues of $10 million to $2 billion and uses an operationally-focused investment strategy to create value. Specific sectors of interest include software, technology, healthcare IT, business services and industrial technology. Fund V will target investments in middle market companies in North America and Europe, and Heritage II will target investments in lower middle market companies in North America. Marlin is headquartered in Los Angeles with an additional office in London (www.marlinequity.com).
“We are extremely grateful for the overwhelming support from our limited partners throughout an accelerated and oversubscribed fundraising process. We believe our operationally-focused investment approach gives us the ability to consistently navigate all economic cycles and resonates well among investors amidst a highly competitive market,” said Peter Spasov, a Partner of Marlin.
In July 2016 Marlin held a first and final closing of Marlin Heritage Europe, LP with €325 million of total capital commitments. The establishment of the Heritage Europe Fund was a natural progression for Marlin since the firm has been investing in European businesses since 2006 and opened a London office in January 2013. This fund was exclusively offered to existing investors in Marlin’s lower middle market focused Heritage Fund platform and closed at its hard cap in just over two months and closed above its initial €200 million target. In total, Marlin has now closed eight private equity funds since its inception in 2005 and has more than $6.7 billion of capital under management.
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) was Marlin’s advisor and exclusive placement agent in the formation of Fund V and Heritage II. Bruce Ettelson, Karin Orsic and Katie St. Peters of Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel.
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | March 21, 2017