Neuberger Berman Group and Athyrium Capital Management have closed Athyrium Opportunities Fund to invest in structured healthcare investments. The new fund was oversubscribed and closed at $507 million.
The limited partners of Athyrium Opportunities Fund include more than 35 institutional investors, including public and private pensions, insurance companies, funds-of-funds, endowments and foundations. To date, the new fund has made five investments representing over 20% of committed capital.
Athyrium Opportunities Fund’s senior investment team is comprised of co-head Jeffrey Ferrell, Founder and Managing Partner of Athyrium Capital Management; co-head Samuel Porat, Managing Director at Neuberger Berman Alternatives; and Laurent Hermouet and Richard Pines, Partners at Athyrium Capital Management.
“Small- and medium-sized companies often have limited access to the capital markets and other sources of financing, and the Athyrium Opportunities Fund offers these companies an attractive alternative for their capital needs while limiting potential equity dilution,’’ said Mr. Ferrell. “Our goal is to customize capital solutions that meet our investment objectives while providing flexible and creative capital solutions to the industry. Our investment team has its roots in the private equity business and this informs how we approach our relationship with portfolio company management.”
Athyrium Opportunities seeks to invest from $25 million to $75 million in small- to medium-sized healthcare companies in the US, Europe and Asia. The fund will focus on partnering with management teams of pharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostics companies with commercial-stage products and services who are looking for long term capital to grow their businesses. The fund has flexibility in structuring its investments and possible transaction structures include loans, notes, royalties or royalty-backed debt, preferred stock, convertible or other structured securities.
“Client response to the Athyrium Opportunities Fund has been high and we’re thankful for the trust our investors have placed in us,” said Mr. Porat. “Our aim is to create a diversified portfolio of investments that can generate relatively high current income while also offering a level of downside protection commensurate with fixed income investments.”
Athyrium Capital Management is an asset management company which invests in opportunities in the global healthcare sector. Sectors of interest include biopharma, medical devices and products, and services. The firm was founded in 2008 and is based in New York (www.athyrium.com).
Neuberger Berman is a private, independent, employee-controlled investment manager with$216 billion in assets under management. The firm is based in New York (www.nb.com).
© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 5-21-13
