Blue Sage Capital, a leading lower-middle market private equity firm, announced the final closing of Blue Sage Capital IV at $618 million, including a substantial commitment from the General Partner. This fund was significantly oversubscribed, closing above its initial target of $400 million, initial hard cap of $550 million, and more than double its $300 million prior fund size.
Blue Sage had limited the size of the fund to maintain its lower-middle market focus and could not fully accommodate a substantial amount of limited partner interest generated in only months of fundraising. And Blue Sage is backed by a global group of limited partners, including well-known college/university endowments, charitable foundations, pension funds, large family offices, insurance companies, and entrepreneurial individuals. Many of the Limited Partners have now partnered with Blue Sage across multiple prior funds, some going back to the firm’s founding almost 25 years ago.
The fund continues Blue Sage’s strategy of partnering with founders, families, and management teams in lower-middle market businesses. And as with prior Blue Sage funds, Fund IV focuses on investment partnerships with environmental solutions, niche manufacturing, and specialty services companies in North America, particularly in Texas, the Southwest, and the Midwest. Blue Sage strongly prefers to be the first institutional investor in the companies with which it partners.
Blue Sage Capital raised Fund IV without a placement agent and engaged Kirkland and Ellis as fund counsel. With Fund IV closed, Blue Sage has now raised over $1.2 billion during its lengthy history, maintaining its heritage and focus on the lower middle market.
KEY QUOTE:
“We are humbled by the consistent support of our Limited Partners and look forward to continuing to generate strong returns for them and their stakeholders who are investing their capital alongside ours. We maintain a deep sense of responsibility to our Limited Partners who have placed their trust in our team. We are grateful for their partnership and look forward to continuing to build truly exceptional portfolio companies by collaborating with outstanding management teams.”
- Peter Huff, Founder and Managing Partner of Blue Sage
