Lovell Minnick Closes Fifth Private Equity Fund at $1.28 Billion

(Bloomberg) -- Lovell Minnick Partners has raised $1.28 billion for its fifth fund as private equity firms continue benefit from strong demand for alternative investments.

Lovell Minnick Equity Partners V LP exceeded its $1 billion target and closed at its hard cap, the maximum amount allowed for the fund, according to a statement Tuesday.

The fund, the firm’s largest pool yet, will continue its strategy of investing in midsize financial and business services companies in the Americas and Europe. It will target equity investments of $40 million to $150 million, although it expects to be able to cut bigger checks with co-investors.

“We are grateful for the strong support we received from existing investors as well as confidence in our strategy from many new investors in the U.S. and abroad,” Lovell Minnick Managing Partner Steve Pierson said in the statement.

It is shaping up to be a strong year for private equity fundraising, as institutional investors seeking elusive returns pour money into the asset class.

Permira is nearing a close for its seventh buyout fund, which has exceeded its 10 billion-euro ($11 billion target), people people familiar with the matter said last week. Other firm’s that have raised funds that exceeded their targets this year include Harrison Street and Advent International.

Lovell Minnick, with offices in Philadelphia, Los Angeles and New York, has raised $3.3 billion since starting in 1999. It raised $750 million for its fourth fund in 2015.

It has had a busy 2019, announcing investments in three new companies: real estate data and analytics provider Attom Data Solutions, software company Inside Real Estate, and OneZero, for the foreign exchange trading industry.

It has also agreed to sell its investments in insurance brokerage Worldwide Facilities Inc., insurance claim manager JS Held and Commercial Credit Group, an equipment finance provider, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Evercore Inc.’s private funds group was placement agent for the fund while Kirkland & Ellis LLP was legal counsel for the fund formation.

To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Monks in New York at mmonks1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Liana Baker at lbaker75@bloomberg.net, Michael Hytha, Matthew Monks

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