GI Partners has set an initial target of $2.3 billion for its fifth buyout fund, according to an SEC filing, a total that would make for the largest vehicle in firm history. Based in San Francisco, GI is a middle-market investor with a diverse strategy, with the B2B, IT, B2C and healthcare sectors each accounting for at least 15% of its activity dating back to 2000, according to PitchBook data.
If the firm reaches that target, it would continue a trend of gradual upticks in size with each successive fund in its flagship series. Here’s a full accounting of the firm’s past buyout vehicles, with returns data taken from the PitchBook Platform (fund multiples current as of 3Q 2016):
While that 13.5% figure for GI Partners Fund IV may not be jaw-dropping in a vacuum, it ranks in the top quartile of GI’s IRR benchmark, representing the second-best figure among 16 peer funds, according to PitchBook data. And it’s a number that’s still very much developing. GI’s fourth fund still has more than $1 billion in dry powder, meaning less than half of the LP capital committed has been called.
With all that money coming in, GI has in the past five years experienced a consistent increase in new investments. The firm’s private equity deal count has increased each of the past four years, per the PitchBook Platform, rising from six transactions in 2012 to 11 last year, with five more completed deals on the books so far in 2017.
In recent months, GI has shown an increased focus on the IT space: nine of its 16 completed investments since the start of 2016 fall under that umbrella. Several of those targets also have some relation to healthcare. Two of the firm’s most significant recent deals are a reported $950 million takeover of Netsmart Technologies from last year and the $337.5 million purchase of the GSK Global Vaccine Centre in Maryland completed in January.
PitchBook subscribers can learn more about GI Partners, its management team, recent deal history and more.
Article by Kevin Dowd, PitchBook
