Calusa Capital to launch first fund by year-end

Newly formed private equity firm Calusa Capital Partners, based in Florida, expects to launch its first investment vehicle before the end of the year, Calusa founder Mark Robinson told Private Equity International.

The fund will focus on scalable, lower middle market companies in the healthcare, IT, professional services, manufacturing and agriculture sectors.

“We seek to partner with strong management teams and place great emphasis on human talent,” Robinson said, adding that it preferred to structure deals with an element of employee ownership.

Robinson founded the firm in partnership with Michael Breidenbach. The two men met each other in the growing venture capital community in southwest Florida, Robinson said.

Both founders have worked as strategic and research consultants for ultra-high net worth families. Robinson focused on private equity investments, while Breidenbach held strategy and research positions as a university professor and founder and president of Broad Brook Research.

The firm will pursue management buyouts and buyins, recapitalisations, acquisitions of family-owned or closely held businesses, acquisitions of PE portfolio companies, ownership transitions, corporate divestitures and co-investments, according to a statement.

Venture capitalist Donald Sanders and Richard Houlihan, former founder, chairman and CEO of Houlihan Lokey and Houlihan Valuation Advisors served as special advisors to the new firm, the statement said.