Q&A With Marlin Equity On the Fundraise of the Year
Marlin Equity Partners recently announced the wildly oversubscribed close of its third fund, raising $650 million in just under four months. As we reported earlier, this was the hottest fundraise to occur within one of the iciest fundraising years in memory. Marlin entered the market in September with placement agent Probitas Partners, seeking $450 million (a slight jump from its prior $350 million vehicle). With private equity fundraising at its lowest levels since 2004, the firm expected to have a difficult run. They couldn't have been more wrong. For Marlin Equity, gathering commitments was the easy part! The firm received $1 billion worth of interest from LPs, creating the challenge of capping the fund at an appropriate level without excluding any LPs. I spoke with Marlin Equity Founder and Managing Partner David McGovern about the firm's track record, possible new hires and the difficulties with increasing its fund size and cutting LP commitments.
