New Firms Must Get Creative To Do Deals: Meet Current Capital
With no formal track record or pool of capital, former Cypress Group Managing Director Jon Foster set out to start a new private equity firm during a terrible time to do such a thing. Alongside a team of operating experts (Steve Cortinovis, former president of Europe for Emerson Electric, John McGovern, former CFO of Georgia-Pacific and Steven Martin, former EVP at Ingersoll-Rand), Foster founded Current Capital. The firm is presently an operations-focused fundless sponsor building its track record with the hope of evolving into a full-on buyout firm that also will offer a suite of advisory and consulting services. According to Foster, Current Capital won’t come to market with a proper buyout fund until said market turns around. At that point it’ll seek around $200 million in commitments, he said. For the time being, Current Capital is building its track record through individual, creative deals that still fit into its lower middle market services and industrials focus. The firm’s first deal, not previously disclosed, occurred back in November, when it partnered with GSO Capital to “manage the firm’s investment” in portfolio company Tompkins Associates.
