Altamont Closes Debut Fund At $500M

Altamont Capital Partners, the firm started by former Golden Gate Capital executive Jesse Rogers, has closed its debut fund with $500 million in commitments.

The fund will target lower mid-market market businesses across a range of industries, typically investing $10 million to $75 million of equity for control-stake deals. Rogers told Buyouts he thinks a private equity firm can have a bigger impact on a small company as opposed to a large, mature one with an established culture.

“Big companies can be like turning around a battleship,” he said. “Smaller companies are more nimble.”

Altamont Capital has not yet closed a deal but is in advanced talks with management at several potential targets, Rogers said. He hopes to close at least one or two deals this quarter.

Altamont Capital’s other executives are Managing Directors Randall Eason and Keoni Schwartz, who worked with Rogers at both Golden Gate and, before that, Bain & Co. About 10 percent of the new fund’s capital came from Altamont Capital executives and its affiliates. Three other investment professionals at the firm are Golden Gate alumni: Principal Steve Brownlie, who had been away from Golden Gate for several years; vice president Alex Rolfe, who had left Golden Gate for business school; and vice president Rob Nagle, who had completed a two-year associate program at Golden Gate. Altamont Capital has a total of 12 investment professionals.

Mid-market funds have been among the most popular for limited partners in recent months. Rogers, however, attributed much of the firm’s fundraising success to the contiinuity of his executive group.

Rogers was a co-founder of San Francisco-based Golden Gate in 2000. Another executive, John Gilligan, also recently left the firm after 10 years, according to Fortune. Gilligan is joining BDT Capital Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm.