Private equity fund American Securities has held the first and final closing of American Securities Partners VII with total capital commitments of USD5 billion.
As a result of strong investor interest, American Securities closed the fund above the USD4 billion target and at the hard cap the firm established at the outset of fundraising in September 2014.
"American Securities greatly appreciates the interest expressed in ASP VII by many long-standing relationships, as well as new investors, from the US and global investing community," says Michael G Fisch, President and CEO of American Securities. "This new partnership provides us with further equity capital to support management teams in growing their businesses."
American Securities invests in partnership with existing management teams of market-leading businesses, generally having USD200 million to USD2 billion of revenues and/or USD50 million to USD200 million of EBITDA. The firm strives to be a long-term, value-added partner to the CEOs and management teams of the companies in which it is privileged to invest. In deploying ASP VII, American Securities will pursue the same disciplined investment approach developed over the past 20 years and will aim to invest USD200 million to USD500 million of equity capital in says David L Horing, a Managing Director of American Securities, who along with Fisch is a Managing Member of ASP VII's general partner.
American Securities also plans to continue its tradition of investing with conservative financial structures. CEOs of companies partnered with American Securities often comment that these aspects are beneficial to their businesses. "We are a company with a long history of employee and management ownership, and American Securities has been a strong partner for us because of their long-term perspective coupled with their willingness to utilise lower leverage, which has provided greater flexibility to our business," says Joe Chlapaty, Chairman and CEO of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc.
The firm is led by an experienced and cohesive team. The Managing Directors on the Investment Team average more than 13 years at American Securities. Bill Redmond, former President and CEO of General Chemical Corporation, says: "During our partnership, we benefitted greatly from the stability and insight of the American Securities team. They helped us create value for all of our stakeholders."
