Vicente Capital Partners Raises $150 Million for Investments in Businesses Across North America Poised for Growth
Fund Managed by New Los Angeles-Based Investment Firm Led by Seasoned Team of Senior Private Equity Investors
| Source: Vicente Capital Partners
LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - October 15, 2008) - Vicente Capital Partners today announced
that it has successfully raised $150 million for its Growth Equity Fund and
is actively pursuing investment opportunities with businesses poised for
growth. Vicente Capital Partners is a new Los Angeles-based investment
firm established by a senior team of private equity investors with more
than 35 years of combined direct growth equity investing experience from
their tenure at Kline Hawkes & Co.
Investors in Vicente Capital Partners' private equity fund include some of
the nation's premier institutional investors, including CalPERS, Fairview
Capital, JP Morgan Asset Mgmt. & Affiliates, LACERS, LA Fire and Police
Pensions, New Mexico ERB, New Mexico State Investment Council, New York
Common and Teachers' Retirement System (IL). The firm's principals have
greatly expanded their investor base by securing approximately two-thirds
of the LP capital from new LP relationships.
"We are excited to be working with Vicente Capital Partners," said Leon
Shahinian, Senior Investment Officer at CalPERS. "We have backed the
Fund's leadership team in the past and believe that they have a unique
investment strategy that offers us an exceptional opportunity."
"We see excellent investment opportunities in today's capital-starved lower
middle market, and look forward to bringing our resources and expertise to
help grow this high-potential business segment," said Jay Ferguson, Vicente
Capital Partners Managing Partner. "We are very pleased to have attracted
such a high caliber group of investors to leverage this opportunity."
Vicente Capital Partners has three Managing Partners, Jay Ferguson, Klaus
Koch and Nicholas Memmo. The leadership team also includes Principals
Alain Rothstein and David Casares, who have significant investment and
operational experience. Jason Beck, Associate, recently joined the team
and also brings operational experience. The core investment team has
worked together managing two prior growth equity funds and has completed 29
growth equity investments to date -- including LivHOME, Rent.com (acquired
by eBay), Overture (acquired by Yahoo!), Vermont Composites, Cogent
Communications (NASDAQ : CCOI ), CaseStack, Rayne Corporation, Transoft
Networks (acquired by Hewlett-Packard), and Sensor Systems. Ferguson and
Memmo continue to serve as General Partners of Kline Hawkes Pacific LP.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, Vicente Capital Partners invests between $5
million and $15 million in privately held growth businesses across North
America and builds them in partnership with management teams. The firm
specializes in both non-control and control equity investments in companies
with $2 million to $25 million in revenues with the potential to achieve
$50 million in revenues over a five-year period. Vicente Capital Partners
focuses on established companies in diverse business sectors including:
Business Services (outsourced services, Internet services, telecom
services); Consumer Services (healthcare services, residential delivery,
education); and Specialty Manufacturing (aerospace & defense, environmental
products, networking/telecom equipment). For more information about
Vicente Capital Partners, please visit www.vicentecapital.com.