Trivest closes Fund IV on $325m

Trivest Partners, a Miami-based middle market buyout firm, has closed its fourth fund on $325 million (€229 million), above its target of $300 million, which will allow the firm to continue its focus on family-owned companies.

Fundraising on the fourth fund began in the second quarter of 2007, according to Chip Vandenberg, partner with Trivest. The firm had its first closing on the fund last June and has already invested 20 percent of its capital.

Investments in Fund IV include the August acquisition of ATX, a designer and manufacturer of equipment for broadband cable operators. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Trivest, founded in 1981, targets the niche manufacturing, franchising, consumer products and business services industries. The firm pursues investment opportunities across the US but has a strong presence in the southeast and Midwest.

The firm’s previous fund, Trivest Fund III, closed on $316 million.

Vandenberg said Trivest was not looking to grow its fundraising too much from the previous round, preferring to keep the fund size between $300 million to $400 million.

“The size of the businesses we continue to fund are such that this is an adequate fund,” Vandenberg said.

Trivest has sponsored 145 acquisitions and recapitalizations totalling more than $3.5 billion. The firm has over $600 million under management. Trivest co-invests with company management and looks for companies valued up to $250 million.

The firm’s anchor investors include Morgan Creek Capital Management, Parish Capital, AIG Investments, Credit Suisse, Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance and GE Equity.

Trivest’s recent investments include DirectBuy Holdings, acquired last November, a domestic franchisor of membership-based buying centers. Trivest acquired Twin-Star International in April 2007, a company that makes electric fireplaces and bathroom vanity products. Financial details were not disclosed for either transaction.