Nautic Partners, a midmarket buyout shop that traces its roots to the now defunct Fleet Financial Group, said it has closed its eighth fund at the fund’s $900 million cap.

The firm began marketing the fund in October and quickly attracted investor interest well in excess of the fund’s cap, LBO Wire reported late last year.

The final closing of Nautic Partners VIII LP exceeds both its $800 million target and the size of its seventh fund, which wrapped up with less than $600 million in 2014.

Investors in Fund VIII include AlpInvest Partners, Ardian, the Arizona State Retirement System, Brown University, the Employees’ Retirement System of the State of Rhode Island, HarbourVest Partners, clients of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, LGT Capital Partners, Nebrodi Partners, New York State Teachers’ Retirement System and Pathway Capital Management, according to a news release.

Mercury Capital Advisors placed the fund and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal adviser, according to the release.

Nautic targets equity investments of $25 million to $75 million in companies with annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $10 million to $30 million. The firm focuses on investing in the health care, industrial products and outsourced services sectors.

Founded as part of Fleet Bank in 1986, Nautic spun out in 2000, when it raised $1.1 billion Nautic Partners V LP, the firm’s first independent fund, according to the news release.
http://nautic.com

Nautic Partners, LLC, a leading middle-market private equity firm that focuses on investments in the healthcare, industrial products, and outsourced services sectors, today announced that it has successfully completed its fund raising for Nautic Partners VIII (“Nautic VIII”). Nautic VIII closed on its hard cap of $900 million. Nautic began formal fund raising in October 2015 and raised its cap to $900 million after receiving strong demand from both new and existing investors.

“We are excited to announce our successful closing on Nautic VIII,” said Bernard Buonanno III, Managing Director at Nautic. “We believe the success of this fundraise is a strong endorsement of our ability to deliver long-term results for our investors. In Nautic VIII, we intend to continue to emphasize our expertise in our three primary sector verticals: healthcare, industrial products, and outsourced services. We have developed deep experience within these industries over the firm’s three decades of investing, and will seek to leverage the specialized knowledge and relationship networks we have generated in order to continue to drive performance for our investors. We will also remain focused on our strategy of improving the value of our portfolio companies by enhancing the depth of our management teams, initiating targeted operating initiatives, and closing add-on acquisitions that are both strategically and financially accretive.”

Founded as part of Fleet Bank in 1986, Nautic spun out in 2000 when it raised Nautic Partners V, its first independent fund. Nautic VIII is the firm’s eighth private equity fund and fourth independent fund.

Nautic’s managing directors, who have worked together at the firm for over 125 combined years, include Habib Gorgi, Bernard Buonanno, Scott Hilinski, Christopher Crosby, Douglas Hill, Christopher Corey, Christopher Pierce, and James Beakey. Select limited partners in Nautic VIII include AlpInvest Partners, Ardian, the Arizona State Retirement System, Brown University, the Employees’ Retirement System of the State of Rhode Island, HarbourVest, clients of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, LGT Capital Partners, Nebrodi Partners, New York State Teachers’ Retirement System, and Pathway Capital Management. Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Mercury Capital Advisors advised Nautic in connection with the formation of Nautic VIII.

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