Parthenon Fund V joins the $1bn club

US mid-market firm Parthenon Capital Partners has held a final close of Parthenon Investors V on $1.03 billion, making it the firm’s first fund to surpass the billion-dollar mark.

The firm said its latest flagship vehicle had an $850 million target and a $1 billion hard-cap.

According to the firm’s 31 May filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the fund attracted commitments from 53 investors. Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois committed $100 million to the fund, according to PEI Research & Analytics.

Parthenon seeks North American companies in the financial services, healthcare services and business services sectors with enterprise values of between $35 million and $500 million, according to its website.

“We continue to see fantastic opportunities to build franchise companies in our target sectors and look forward to scaling our firm going forward,” Parthenon co-chief executive and managing partner Brian Golson said in a statement.

Its current portfolio includes retail insurance broker Ascension Insurance, video-driven business intelligence solutions company Envysion and mortgage origination company loanDepot.

In January it undertook a transaction involving the merger of Premier Healthcare Exchange, Stratose, GlobalCare and Pay-Plus Solutions for healthcare value management solutions.

Ropes & Gray was counsel to this fifth fund, and Kirkland & Ellis represented Parthenon.

The fund’s predecessor, Parthenon Investors IV, was raised in 2012 and closed on $700 million, ahead of the $600 million target. The investor base of the fourth fund includes Illinois Teachers, which committed $35 million, Michigan Department of Treasury, which committed $40 million, Oregon Public Employees’ Retirement System, which committed $75 million and Oregon State Treasury, which committed $75 million, according to PEI Research & Analytics.

Funds I raised $350 million, Fund II raised $750 million, while Funds III and IV raised $700 million.