Avista Capital Partners, a New York-based private equity firm focused on the middle market, has completed the final closing of its first, eponymous private equity fund, with total commitme
Avista Capital Partners, a New York-based private equity firm focused on the middle market, has completed the final closing of its first, eponymous private equity fund, with total commitments of USD2bn. The fund was substantially oversubscribed, having originally targeted commitments of USD1.5bn.
Approximately 60 institutional investors are participating in the Avista Capital Partners fund, including public and corporate pension funds, financial institutions, endowments and foundations, as well as individuals and family offices, although the general partners of Avista are collectively the largest investor with a commitment of USD161m. Merrill Lynch was the fund’s placement agent.
‘We are very pleased with the high level of interest in our first independent fund,’ says Thompson Dean, Avista’s co-managing partner and chief executive. ‘The total commitments to the fund exceeded our expectations, and we are thrilled with the quality and diversity of our investor base.
‘We look forward to continuing to apply our proven investment strategy of combining investment professionals with industry experts to source, evaluate and execute attractive investments in our target sectors, as well as to add value to our portfolio companies.’
Avista is primarily focused on three industry sectors in which its professionals have substantial expertise, energy, healthcare, and media. Within these sectors, Avista makes controlling or influential minority investments, primarily in US-based companies, in connection with various transaction structures, including leveraged buyouts, build-ups and growth financings.
Since its initial closing in the first half of last year, Avista has invested or committed approximately USD1.1bn, some 55 per cent of the fund commitments, in 14 companies including BioReliance, Geokinetics, Laramie Energy II, Nycomed, The Star Tribune Company and WideOpenWest.
Says Avista co-managing partner and president Steven Webster: ‘We are excited about the investments we have made in the last year and the value that has been created in a relatively short period of time. We are pleased with the execution of our focused investment strategy and believe the fund will deliver differentiated returns for our investors.’
Avista Capital Partners, which has 28 employees at offices in New York and Houston, was formed in 2005 by seven former partners from DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, the US buyout arm of Credit Suisse. Dean was managing partner and global head of DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and Webster was chairman of DLJMB Global Energy Partners.
Avista’s partners also include James Finkelstein, former chairman of DLJMB Global Media Partners and Larry Pickering, former chairman of DLJMB Global Healthcare Partners, as well as David Burgstahler, David Durkin and OhSang Kwon, all former partners at DLJMB, while Robert Cabes, who was named a partner of Avista in 2006, previously was a principal at DLJMB.
