Argonaut Hard Caps Fifth Fund

Argonaut Private Equity has held an above target and hard cap close of its fifth fund, Argonaut Private Equity Fund V LP, with $500 million in capital commitments. The new fund’s initial target was $400 million.

Institutional limited partners in Fund V include pensions, endowments, foundations, sovereign wealth funds, and family offices.

“We are grateful for the support of existing and new investors who have entrusted us with their capital and are proud to have closed Fund V above our target,” said Steve Mitchell, the CEO and a managing director of Argonaut. “As interest rates have increased, our investors recognize that outsized returns in the future will come not from use of leverage but from operational excellence. Our track record of investing at conservative purchase price multiples with minimal debt while growing our partner companies through diligent execution resonated well during fundraising.”

Since Fund V’s first close in February 2022, Argonaut has committed approximately $195 million of the fund’s capital in 7 platforms including 4 in 2022 and 3 in 2023 as follows: Bandera Utility Contractors, a Texas-based provider of storm sewer, water, and sanitary sewer services to multifamily housing, industrial, and warehouse sectors (2022); Miller Contracting Services, an Illinois-based provider of construction services – portals, fans, foundations, hoisting, and shafts – for mining, industrial, and civil applications (2022); Petroplex Acidizing, a Texas-based provider of chemical treatment services to West Texas and New Mexico-based oil and gas producers (2022); and Tulsa Inspection Resources, an Oklahoma-based provider of inspection services to energy businesses including midstream and public utilities (2022).

The three 2023 acquisitions are Center Rock, a Pennsylvania-based maker of pneumatic drilling tools – borehole hammers, bits, and drilling rigs – used in the construction, mining, utility, and energy industries (2023); Allstream Services & Rental, a Louisiana-based provider of surface preparation equipment and services to the oil and chemical industries (2023); and Chemoil Energy Services, an Oklahoma-based distributor of diesel fuel and lubricants used in onshore fracking and drilling applications (2023).

“Like the companies we partner with, Argonaut is both geographically and culturally part of Middle America,” said Kelby Hagar, the president and a managing director of Argonaut. “With Fund V, Argonaut continues to be well positioned to invest in the sectors and regions we know well but that are underserved by institutional capital.”

Tulsa-based Argonaut invests in companies that are active in the energy services, manufacturing and industrial sectors. The firm was founded in 2002 and has invested more than $2.5 billion of capital in 40 platform companies. Argonaut’s earlier fund closed in August 2019 at its hard cap of $400 million.

© 2024 Private Equity Professional | January 12, 2024