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Thomas H Lee Partners closes USD5.6bn flagship PE fund

Thomas H Lee Partners, a private equity firm investing in middle-market growth companies, has held the successful final close of its ninth flagship fund, Thomas H Lee Equity Fund IX (Fund IX), at its hard cap with USD5.6 billion in capital commitments.

Thomas H Lee Partners, a private equity firm investing in middle-market growth companies, has held the successful final close of its ninth flagship fund, Thomas H Lee Equity Fund IX (Fund IX), at its hard cap with USD5.6 billion in capital commitments.

Fund IX received strong demand from investors and over USD250 million of General Partner commitments. A global and diverse group of new and existing limited partners have committed capital to Fund IX, including leading public and private pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, banks, insurance companies, endowments, foundations, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals.

Fund IX will continue THL’s strategy of investing behind its Identified Sector Opportunities (“ISOs”), which benefit from robust secular growth trends. Within its ISOs, THL focuses on investing in middle-market growth companies with high-quality business models and attractive return on invested capital characteristics.

A critical component of THL’s partnership approach is its Strategic Resource Group (SRG), an in-house team of 18 senior professionals who specialise in accelerating company growth. ​This internal operating team offers a broad suite of scalable services in critical areas, such as technology and innovation, go-to-market strategy and execution, operations and productivity, organisational design, M&A integration, and cross-portfolio services. Targeting companies in its ISOs, THL combines its deep domain expertise and dedicated internal operating resources to grow companies of lasting value in partnership with management teams.

The close of Fund IX comes on the heels of an active 12 months for THL, which included the close of a USD900 million automation-focused private equity fund (Automation Fund). The Automation Fund is the only private equity fund dedicated to the automation sector and reflects the highly focused, deep domain expertise that is one of the key pillars of THL’s long-developed strategy. Further, THL’s strong commitment to proactive deal creation has resulted in 10 new investments in its ISO areas.

“The successful fundraise speaks to the strength of our value creation capabilities and domain expertise, which allow us to move with speed and certainty to support our portfolio companies through their next stage of growth,” says Todd Abbrecht, Co-CEO of THL. “Particularly over the last decade, we have heavily invested in our firm to develop a roster of industry-leading talent, allowing us to work at a level of depth that can truly impact operating company performance. By developing a deep industry knowledge in our ISOs, we are able to identify the best opportunities and deliver unique value from day one.”

“We greatly appreciate our limited partners’ strong support and confidence in our ability to identify and execute on attractive opportunities in our areas of focus that can grow through market and business cycles,” says Scott Sperling, Co-CEO of THL. “The overwhelming investor demand for Fund IX is a testament to our talented investment and operational teams and reflects a shared conviction in the middle-market growth opportunities across the Financial Services, Healthcare, and Technology and Business Solutions sectors.”

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