Alpine Investors Seeks $175M For Fourth Fund

Alpine Investors LP is keeping busy despite turmoil in the wider financial markets. A source has told Buyouts that the San Francisco-based lower mid-market shop is not only out stumping for a fourth fund, it’s also made an investment of an undisclosed amount in online home décor retailer YLighting.

The firm is returning to the fundraising circuit just two years after closing its last fund with a total of $125 million in commitments. Alpine Investors IV has a target of $175 million.

Alpine Investors plans to hold a first close on the effort on November 1, our source said. No placement agent has been tapped. The investment in Ylighting is due to be announced shortly. The firm declined to comment.

Founded in 2001, YLighting sells high-end lighting products at the Web sites YLlighting.com and CroftandLittle.com. The company recently launched Zwello.com, a home furnishings and accessories products e-commerce site. Alpine Investors Executive-in-Residence Sean Callahan will join the business as CEO.

Lighting E-commerce is an industry that Alpine Investors likes: The Ylighting deal follows the firm’s purchase of Lighting By Gregory, another online lighting retailer, in February.

Alpine Investors targets companies generating EBITDA in the $2 million to $10 million range. It takes a diverse industry view with investments spanning from alarm monitoring and ATM operators to specialty retailers and wealth management. The firm, which has about $247 million in capital under management, was formed in 2001 by Graham Weaver, a former vice president of Oak Hill Capital.