Australia's Crescent Capital closes Fund V at $565m
Crescent Capital Partners has reached a final close on its fifth Australia and New Zealand-focused fund at the hard cap of A$675 million ($565 million) after only 10 weeks in the market.
The vehicle was launched at Crescent's annual investor conference in September. It represents a step up in size from the private equity firm's previous fund, which closed at A$490 million in 2012. However, the middle market strategy remains the same.
Michael Alscher, Crescent's founder and managing partner, said that a small number of new investors came into Fund V, although the firm was unable to satisfy all demands. "One of the things we set out to achieve was to secure investment from leading institutions globally, and we're pleased that our investor base is now well diversified with two-thirds of Fund V provided by leading investors located outside Australia," he said.
Crescent targets companies that are expected to see strength growth and then works with portfolio companies to accelerate sales and improve performance. This often involves expanding businesses internationally, with over 50% of portfolio companies having an Asian presence. The private equity firm backs groups with enterprise values of A$50-300 million.
In the past 12 months, Crescent has taken three companies public - CoverMore, Lifehealthcare and Metro Performance Glass - and sold employee assistance business Davidson Trahaire Corpsych. These exits have generated an average return of 4x.
Crescent was founded in 2000 and has made over 25 platform investments and 70 bolt-on acquisitions. The compound annual return generated by the firm's three funds active over the last 10 years stands at 28%.
The rapid fundraise follows that of another Australian middle market manager, Quadrant Private Equity, which closed its seventh fund at A$850 million earlier this year after just over one month in the market. Prior to Crescent's announcement, Australia and New Zealand-focused GPs had raised $1.9 billion so far this year, including incremental and final closes. This compares to $650 million in 2013.
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