USA – York Capital Management, a global private investment firm, closed its third North American middle-market special opportunities private equity fund, with final capital commitments of approximately $800m.
In line with its predecessor funds, York Special Opportunities Fund III, L.P.’s investment strategy primarily targets control investments in middle-market businesses led by experienced management teams. Fund III generally employs a conservative approach to leverage, targeting investment returns from growth and achieving management plans. It seeks to take advantage of unique company situations across cycles and sectors and has a target equity investment size of $35–$200 million. York’s Private Equity strategy has a flexible investment mandate, enabling it to tailor each platform investment to the needs of existing owners and management teams while offering creative structuring options. York also announced that it has completed its first investment in Fund III, acquiring The Good Feet Store, a manufacturer and franchise retailer of personalized arch supports and related products. The company controls the entire value chain including product design and manufacturing, marketing, customer experience through its own retail stores, and customer follow up after purchase. There are more than 150 Good Feet stores, over 90% of which are franchised. Additionally, Harish Nataraj has joined York Private Equity as a Managing Director. Prior to joining York, he was a Partner and Managing Director at Angelo Gordon’s Private Equity Group, where he led investments in the financial services, consumer, healthcare services and business services industries. Prior to Angelo Gordon, Mr. Nataraj was an Associate at Kohlberg & Company. Mr. Nataraj started his career as an analyst at Bear, Stearns & Co. in the TMT Group and received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Rochester. Led by Jamie Dinan, CEO and Founder and a member of Fund III’s investment committee, and Zalmie Jacobs, Partner and Head of Private Equity, York Capital Management is a global private investment firm established in 1991. The firm manages approximately $18 billion in assets across public and private investment strategies, including its private equity platform, the York Special Opportunities Fund. York Capital employs approximately 60 investment professionals and 200 employees globally, primarily in New York, London and Hong Kong. Since York launched its middle-market special opportunities private equity strategy in 2008, it has acquired over 20 businesses and platforms. York Special Opportunities Fund II, L.P. closed in 2014 with approximately $700 million in capital commitments, and York Special Opportunities Fund I, L.P. closed in 2008 with approximately $500 million in capital commitments. York Private Equity has 15 dedicated team members. 30/04/2020
