Huron Capital has closed The Huron Flex Equity Fund LP (Flex Fund) with $142 million of total capital commitments. The new fund, the sixth investment vehicle raised by Huron Capital since 1999, surpassed its initial target of $100 million after only seven months in the market.
The Flex Fund will make non-control investments of $5 million to $20 million in North American-based companies that have revenues of $20 million to $200 million and EBITDA of greater than $5 million.
In addition to the Flex Fund, Huron Capital makes control investments of up to $70 million per transaction in middle-market companies that have revenues up to $200 million and EBITDAs of $5 million or more. Sectors of interest include specialty manufacturing, business services, consumer goods & services, and healthcare. Huron was founded in 1999 and has offices in Detroit and Toronto (www.huroncapital.com).
The Flex Fund is the inaugural expansion of Huron Capital’s “Flex Equity” group which it launched in April 2016 to pursue non-control investments in lower middle market companies. The Flex Equity group is led by Douglas Sutton and Charles Sheridan who joined Huron Capital in January 2016 after 13 years at BMO Private Equity. At BMO, the pair led a similar investment approach focused on the lower middle-market.
Limited partners in the Flex Fund include existing Huron Capital investors as well as a number of new endowments, foundations, multi-manager funds, corporate pensions and family offices.
“We deeply value the tremendous confidence and broad support that our new and existing investors have placed with our experienced investment team. We remain focused on delivering strong returns to our limited partner base across the platform,” said Brian Demkowicz, Managing Partner of Huron Capital. “We are focused on remaining a strategic solution provider to our limited partners and working with them to identify attractive entry points in the lower middle market. Our goal is to leverage our buy-and-build strategy in partnership with seasoned executives to improve and grow our businesses through strategic initiatives, operational improvements and add-on acquisitions throughout the lower middle market.”
Sixpoint Partners served as Huron’s global placement agent for this fundraise. “We are proud to represent Huron Capital and view their expansion into non-control equity as the first step into a broader, measured expansion in the lower middle market,” said Eric Zoller, Founder & Partner at Sixpoint Partners. “The private equity market continues to evolve and Huron Capital remains at the forefront of this evolution. The Huron Flex Fund team is a proven group of investors that fit strategically with Huron Capital’s competitive advantages.”
Sixpoint Partners is headquartered in New York with offices in Chicago, San Francisco and Hong Kong (www.sixpointpartners.com).
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | April 11, 2018