Vestar replaces Levy on financial services

Rob Rosner, one of the founders of Vestar Capital Partners, has taken over the financial services group at the firm that was formerly headed by Sander Levy, who has left the firm, a Vestar spokesperson confirmed. 

Levy left two months ago and has founded his own shop, called Bridge Growth Partners, along with Alok Singh, former managing director at New Mountain Capital, and Kevin Parker, most recently chief executive of software company Deltek. 

Levy was a founding partner at Vestar. His departure did not trigger any key-man provisions under any of Vestar’s funds, the spokesperson said. 

Vestar has been struggling to raise its sixth flagship fund, which launched in 2010 with a $3.5 billion target. That target was reduced to $2 billion and the firm, as of last August, had collected more than $700 million, according to filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. It’s not clear how much the firm has collected today, or if a final close is imminent. Vestar received LP approval to extend its fundraising period last year through April. 

The firm also closed its European offices last year and announced it would make no new investments in the region. The decision to back out of Europe was influenced in part by the continent’s struggling economy, and the fact that the firm had not completed a transaction there in more than four years, according to one source with knowledge of the firm, who talked to Private Equity International last year.