Sentinel Capital Partners, a private equity firm that invests in promising midmarket companies, today announced the simultaneous closings of Sentinel Capital Partners VII, LP at $4.3 billion and Sentinel Junior Capital II, LP at $835 million. These twin closings cap a $5.2 billion fundraising.
“We are delighted to finalize another successful fundraise with strong endorsements of our strategy from existing investors and select new global LPs,” said David S. Lobel, founder and Managing Partner of Sentinel. “We are incredibly pleased with the support we have received from an outstanding group of LPs during an extremely challenging period for investors. Strong investor demand resulted in Sentinel VII securing commitments above its hard cap.”
Through Sentinel’s seventh equity fund, the firm will continue the same investment strategy it has employed and refined in previous funds—partnering with talented management teams to acquire midmarket companies with up to $65 million of EBITDA that possess solid business fundamentals in select industries where Sentinel has extensive experience. In addition to platform acquisitions, Sentinel will continue to pursue tuck-in acquisitions and transformational add-on acquisitions as important dimensions of its investment strategy.
“Over the course of 27 years, Sentinel has established a consistent record of growing and improving midmarket businesses by tackling financial and operational complexity while embracing partnerships with management teams, an approach that has proven appealing to corporate and institutional sellers, business owners, and company executives,” said John F. McCormack, Sentinel’s co-founder. “As Sentinel matures, we continue to invest in our people and the processes that enhance our capabilities. Besides our core investment capabilities, we are actively investing in DE&I, ESG, investor relations, forensic accounting, and human capital initiatives.”
Sentinel’s second structured capital solutions fund will offer flexible credit and equity solutions, including senior and junior debt, preferred equity, and other forms of structured capital. These capital solutions will be provided to Sentinel’s own portfolio companies as well as other closely held businesses and private equity–backed companies. This investment vehicle draws on Sentinel’s long heritage as a collaborative, value-added, and solutions-based investment partner.
Investors in Sentinel’s new funds include college and university endowments, foundations, state and government retirement systems, corporate pension plans, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, investment advisors, and Taft-Hartley plans based in the United States, Europe, Japan, China, Australia, and the Middle East. The new funds follow two predecessors that Sentinel raised in 2018—Sentinel Capital Partners VI, L.P. with $2.15 billion of committed capital, and Sentinel Junior Capital I, L.P., Sentinel’s first structured capital solutions fund, with $460 million of committed capital.
Supporting the fundraising and representing Sentinel were law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP and the Private Fund Group of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC.
Sentinel specializes in buying and building midmarket businesses in the United States and Canada in partnership with management. Sentinel targets aerospace and defense, business services, consumer, distribution, food and restaurants, franchising, healthcare, and industrial businesses. Sentinel invests in management buyouts, recapitalizations, corporate divestitures, and going-private transactions of established businesses with EBITDA of up to $65 million. Sentinel also invests in special situations, including structured capital solutions, balance sheet restructurings, and operational turnarounds. For more information about Sentinel, visit www.sentinelpartners.com.
