Altas, former Onex exec’s shop, raises more than $2 bln for next long-life PE fund

Altas Partners, a pioneer of long-life investing, has raised close to its $2.5 billion target and could hold a final close this quarter, a person with knowledge of the firm told Buyouts.

Whether Fund II has a cap is unclear. A spokesperson for Altas declined comment. Park Hill Group is placement agent on the fundraising.

Andrew Sheiner, a former senior Onex Corp executive, formed Altas in 2012. The firm invested deal by deal before raising its first fund, which closed on $1 billion in 2016.

Altas makes control investments of $250 million to $1 billion of equity. It can hold investments longer than the typical three-to-five years of a traditional private equity fund, but it can also choose to sell in that time frame.

Investments so far include University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences; commercial roofing company Tecta America; insurance brokerage Hub International; scuba diving training company PADI; Capital Vision Services; Medforth Global Healthcare Education; and road-salt maker NSC Minerals, which the firm sold in January to Kissner Group.

Sheiner leads Altas along with Managing Partner Scott Werry and Partners Christopher McElhone, Paul Nicoletti, David Brent and Damon Conway. Nicoletti is also chief operating officer.

Altas was an early adopter of the long-life philosophy in PE. Other firms that followed include funds raised by KKR, Carlyle and Blackstone.

Cove Hill Partners, led by former Bain Capital executive Andrew Balson, built long-life flexibility into his debut fund, allowing the manager to hold certain investments longer than usual.

Action Item: Check out Altas’s Form ADV here: https://bit.ly/2GE1BZ5