VSS Capital Partners has announced the strategic sale of a minority stake to Australia’s Pinnacle Investment Management Group Limited (ASX: PNI), along with an expansion of its partnership and leadership team. According to Crunchbase, the stake was sold for $60.5 million.
The New York-based VSS, a private investment firm investing in the healthcare, education and business services industries, elevated four senior professionals — Trent Hickman, Patrick Turner, Andrew Goscinski and David Fann — to partners, joining managing partner Jeffrey Stevenson as shareholders of the firm.
Growth Thrust
Hickman, who joined the firm in 1999, was also named co-managing partner, with direct responsibility to oversee the next VSS Structured Capital Fund alongside Stevenson. Turner and Goscinski were also named senior managing directors.
“As we enter a new phase of growth and seek to deliver our investment solutions to new markets, Pinnacle is a logical partner that enables us access to a world-class global distribution platform and extend the reach of VSS’s private markets offering,” said Stevenson, who has been with the firm since 1982. “We are confident both clients, and the management teams we partner with, will benefit from our partnership with Pinnacle.”
Pinnacle is a leading ASX-listed multi-affiliate investment management group with distribution strength and affiliated investment teams in Australia, New Zealand, London, the United States and Canada.
Commercial Real Estate
MacKenzie Companies
Advertising / Media / Communications / Public Relations
Nevins & Associates
Financial Services / Investment Firms
Chesapeake Corporate Advisors
Commercial Real Estate
Monday Properties
Venture Capital
Blue Delta Capital Partners
Internet / Technology
Foxtrot Media
Over $128B in AUM
“The VSS structured (“flexible”) capital platform serving the lower middle market is well established and poised for growth in the North American marketplace,” said Ian Macoun, Pinnacle’s managing director. “We believe Pinnacle’s global distribution capabilities and our world-class middle office and fund infrastructure platform will be an asset to VSS as it aims to scale over the long term.”
VSS has managed $4 billion in committed capital across eight funds, and completed 101 platform investments and over 600 add-on acquisitions. As of Sept. 30, it had $128.1 billion under management across its 16 affiliates. Its Structured Capital strategy is a hybrid approach, offering non-control junior capital with the benefits of active partnership and industry expertise. Citing PitchBook’s 2023 Global Manager Performance Score League Tables, VSS said it was recently ranked second among all private debt funds globally.
Stevenson, who received a B.A. degree in Economics from Rutgers University, is chairman of the firm’s investment committee and has served on the boards of over 31 portfolio companies.
