Anthos, which straddles the PE and VC line, eyes $1.5bn cap on fifth fund

Anthos Capital quietly and quickly amassed about $1.4 billion for a first close on its fifth fund, beating its $1.25 billion target and putting it in position to hit the hard cap, two sources told Buyouts.

The firm, with offices in Menlo Park and Santa Monica, has steadily increased its fund size since inception in 2007, making bigger jumps over its more recent funds. Breaching the $1 billion mark is a milestone for the firm that prefers to conduct business without much fanfare.

Anthos, formed by a group of partners including several former Goldman executives, set the cap at $1.5 billion, the people said. A Form D fundraising document filed earlier this month showed a target of $1.5 billion. The firm could hold a final close in the second quarter, the people said.

Park Hill Group is working as placement agent on the fundraising. Bryan Kelly, managing partner at Anthos, did not respond to a comment request Friday.

Anthos was formed in 2007. Kelly and Paul Farr are the firm’s principal owners, according to Anthos’s Form ADV. Anthos managed about $1.5 billion as of Dec. 31, 2020, the Form ADV said.

The firm, which makes venture capital and growth investments, uses a direct sourcing model to find proprietary investment opportunities primarily in technology, consumer and healthcare companies, according to the Form ADV. It looks for investments that are generally non-competitive with other firms, the Form ADV said.

It primarily targets growth companies that need investments of $5 million to $100 million. The firm also assists entrepreneurs with strategic and operating issues, the Form ADV said.

Anthos was formed by Kelly, Farr, Gavyn Davies, John Hagerty, Thomas Healey and Eff Martin. Kelly previously worked at Goldman Sachs in the investment banking division and equities derivatives group. Farr previously worked at Summit Partners.

The firm was targeting $550 million for the fourth fund, according to a Form D file in 2019. It’s not clear how much that fund closed on, though the fund had a gross asset value of about $412 million as of March 30, the Form ADV said.

Fund III closed on $300 million in 2015, Buyouts previously reported. Anthos targeted $70 million for its second fund in 2013. Fund II had a gross asset value of about $250 million as of March 30, the Form ADV said.