Friday, January 4, 2008

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.....what a surprise!

2007 may be the year of mid-market buyouts, and firms are stocking up on capital. The latest is Crestview Partners, which has secured $1.7 billion in commitments for a second fund that should eventually close north of $2 billion. Not too shabby for a firm that only began marketing back in October.

New York-based Crestview was formed in 2005 by a team of ex-Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley pros, and focuses on “unusual or challenging” situations. It’s mostly sector agnostic, with a current portfolio that includes cable, reinsurance, financial services, asset management, automotive, energy and healthcare. Not sure if it’s willing to do tech, but its website does mention media as a possibility.

Its debut fund closed on just under $900 million. Limited partners in the new one include Richard Rainwater, Princeton University and The South Carolina Retirement Systems.

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