Hildred Capital Management has held an above-target close of its first institutional fund, Hildred Equity Partners II LP, with total capital commitments of $362 million.
Limited partners in Fund II include both new and existing Hildred investors, including public pension plans, insurance companies, financial institutions, private wealth and financial services platforms, family offices, and high-net-worth individual investors. According to Hildred, the general partner of Fund II committed approximately $80 million of the $362 million of capital.
Hildred Capital Management was founded in 2018 by managing partners David Solomon and Andrew Goldman. Messrs. Solomon and Goldman previously worked together for five years as the Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer, respectively, of Hildred Capital Partners, a family office (named after the family dog) founded in January 2014 by Howard Solomon and his son David Solomon. The two Solomons are former senior executives of Forest Laboratories which was sold to Allergan (then Actavis) for $28 billion in July 2014. Howard Solomon led Forest Laboratories as its CEO and chairman from 1977 to 2014. He passed away in January 2022 at the age of 94.
“We appreciate the enthusiastic reception we have received for Hildred’s first institutional fund, and we are thrilled about the range of opportunities we see in middle-market healthcare and adjacent areas,” said Mr. Solomon. “This is an incredibly exciting time to be focused in healthcare, as the pandemic has exposed significant areas of unmet need and inefficiency in patient care, resulting in fundamental shifts in the healthcare landscape that are creating highly compelling investment opportunities. Our focus will continue to be on building exceptional companies that add value to the healthcare system by improving patient outcomes, expanding access to high-quality care and reducing costs.”
Hildred’s new fund has already committed 61% of its capital through investments in seven companies including DermCare Management, a Florida-based dermatology practice management company (2019); Project Natural, a manufacturer of natural and homeopathic consumer health products (2020); binx, a Boston-based provider of PCR-based diagnostic testing (2021); SportsMed, a New Jersey-based provider of physical therapy services (2018 and 2021); Tesseract, a Connecticut-based developer of non-invasive and eye-based diagnostic devices (2021); HealthCare.com, a Florida-based healthcare insurance technology platform (2022); and Carlin Consumer Health, a platform investment that acquires over-the-counter healthcare brands (2022).
“We are grateful to have the support of investors who share our vision and belief in the growth catalysts for investments in middle-market healthcare,” said Mr. Goldman. “We look forward to continuing to partner with best-in-class businesses and their management teams where we can leverage Hildred’s deep operational experience and highly collaborative, hands-on approach to accelerate the provision of high-quality healthcare to the patients globally. With seven investments already completed, a robust acquisition pipeline, and ample dry powder, Hildred is exceptionally well-positioned to drive strong returns for our investors in the evolving healthcare space.”
Monument Group was the placement agent for this fundraise and Kirkland & Ellis provided legal services.
“The incredibly strong show of support Hildred has received for its first institutional fund amid the ongoing challenges associated with the pandemic is a testament to the strength of its team,” said Bart Malloy, a partner at Monument Group. “With extensive industry relationships, a deep bench of seasoned healthcare and investment professionals and exceptionally strong operational capabilities, Hildred has a compelling investment strategy. Congratulations to the entire team on a successful capital raise!”
New York City-headquartered Hildred makes both majority and minority investments of $20 million to $75 million in North America-based healthcare companies with revenues of up to $100 million that are valued from $50 million to $250 million. Within healthcare, subsectors of interest include consumer products, medical and pharmaceuticals services, information technology, and life science tools and diagnostics.
© 2022 Private Equity Professional | March 4, 2022
