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USA WINNER - CONNER SEARCY
DEAL: Trive Capital raises $300m for debut lower mid-market fund
NAME: Conner Searcy COMPANY: Trive Capital POSITION: Managing Partner TEL: 214.499.9722 EMAIL: connersearcy@trivecapital.com
DEAL OVERVIEW BIO Q
Please summarise the transaction
Trive Capital Holdings, LLC (“Trive”), a Dallas, Texas based investment firm, closed the Trive Capital Fund I LP (“Fund I”) with $300 million of capital commitments. Fund I reached its hard-cap in five months and was substantially oversubscribed from its initial $250 million target.
“We are humbled by the strong support and interest we have received from investors globally and are proud to have partnered with world class public and private pension funds, endowments, foundations, fund of funds and family offices,” commented Conner Searcy, Managing Partner of Trive. “The success of the fundraise was a testament to our deep value investing approach, quality of the Trive team and prior
success
deploying an operationally-focused investment strategy.”
Fund I will invest in North American headquartered lower middle market companies, which possess transformational upside or are under-resourced and would benefit from an operationally-focused partner. The firm will continue to deploy a disciplined investment approach into special situations across industry sectors.
“Trive’s hands-on operational approach brings a skill set absent in many lower middle market businesses, substantially increasing the velocity of upside achievement and enterprise improvement,” commented Chris Zugaro, Partner at Trive. “The close of Fund I caps a very busy year for Trive during which we completed three platform investments and significantly grew the team.”
MVision Private Equity Advisers acted as exclusive fundraising advisor for Fund I. Patton Boggs LLP served as legal counsel
Deal Maker of the Year Awards 2013
Conner is the Managing Partner of Trive Capital, responsible for overseeing all facets of the firm’s investment activities. Over his private equity career, Conner has completed over 40 separate buyouts across more than a dozen industry sectors, representing over $3.5 billion in revenue.
Prior to founding Trive Capital, Conner was a Partner at Insight Equity, a firm he joined at its inception. Conner’s primary responsibilities included leading the firm’s sourcing, structuring, financing and execution of new transactions and opportunities.
Prior to Insight Equity, Conner was with Stonegate, a middle market buyout firm focused on the building products industry. At Stonegate, Conner participated in 18 distinct acquisitions, representing $1.5 billion in revenue. Prior to Stonegate, Conner was with Bain & Company where he focused on turnaround management, business strategy and merger integration within the automotive, industrial, insurance and consumer products industries.
Conner received his MBA from the Harvard Business School and graduated with a B.A., Highest Honors, from Vanderbilt University in three years. He received the Dealmaker of the Year Award from the M&A Advisor in 2009 and Turnaround of the Year Award for Hirschfeld Steel from the Turnaround Management Association in 2008. Conner is an avid triathlete.
Headed up fundraising efforts as the Founder and Managing Partner of the firm
Q Q
What were the challenges or difficulties presented
It was a difficult fundraising environment with institutional LPs reducing the overall number of relationships, and as a spin-out, we had to overcome the perception of being viewed as a new firm despite the team having a long relationship with each other.
Q
How were the challenges or difficulties overcome
We are a seasoned group with a strong track record. In addition, our strategy of deep value
What was your role within the transaction
investing in under-resourced companies with a heavy operational approach to managing our portfolio resonated with the institutional LP community.
Q
What are your plans following the transaction
We are actively deploying our fund capital at a quick pace into off-the-run opportunities.
The
macro environment is ripe for our strategy, and we are finding a plethora of opportunities in the lower middle market.
Q
What are your thoughts and predictions within your sector for 2014 and beyond
The next few years should be a good operating environment for our approach. Uncertainty and low growth are positives for us.