AEA’s third small business fund beats target with $443 mln

AEA Investors held a final close for AEA Small Business Fund III with $443 million, 21 percent ahead of its $350 million target, in a rapid fundraise, according to sources.

The New York firm launched fundraising this year for AEA Small Business Fund III, AEA’s buyout program for businesses valued at $25 million up to $200 million.

The fund comes after the firm raised $350 million in 2009 for AEA Investors Small Business Fund II in 2009 and $286 million for its inaugural fund in the series in 2004.

The AEA small-business private equity team manages $700 million of invested and committed capital, according to the firm’s website.

Three partners head up the business: Baron Carlson, John Cozzi  and Alan Wilkinson, along with Todd Welsch and Timothy Whelan, both principals.

AEA Investors lists 20 portfolio companies under its small-business fund family including three investments in 2016: Omega Acquisition Corp and Scan Global Logistics Holdings, both in August, as well as Inovar Packaging Group LLC.

Along with its small-business unit, AEA focuses on two other investment strategies: buyouts of middle-market companies; and mezzanine and senior debt.

Earlier this year, AEA investors closed its flagship fund, AEA Fund VI Investment, with $3.2 billion in commitments. AEA raised AEA Mezzanine Fund III with $575 million.

A spokesman for the firm did not return an email.

Action Item: AEA Investors Small Business: http://www.aeainvestors.com/private-equity/small-business/

A full moon also referred to as a “super moon” rises in the sky behind New York’s Lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center as a plane passes through it as seen from the Eagle Rock Reservation in West Orange, New Jersey, on June 23, 2013. Photo courtesy Reuters/Gary Hershorn