Avesi Partners, led by former Lindsay Goldberg exec, closes Fund I in a jiffy

Emerging manager Avesi Partners, launched less than six months ago by ex-Lindsay Goldberg partner Chris Laitala, wrapped up its debut buyout fund at $875 million.

Avesi Partners Fund I finished 35 percent above a target of $650 million, the Stamford, Connecticut, private equity firm said in a statement. Limited partners included endowments and foundations, family offices, funds of funds and industry executives.

It appears Fund I’s target (or hard-cap) was increased over the brief course of fundraising. Last month, Avesi filed Form D fundraising documents stating that the goal was $827 million.

Lazard Frères & Co was the fund’s placement agent. Kirkland & Ellis provided legal counsel.

Laitala left Lindsay Goldberg in the early weeks of 2021, Buyouts reported. He worked for the firm for four years, leading or participating in healthcare and business services investing. Between 2009 and 2016 he was with HIG Capital, where as managing director he had a broader sector focus that included healthcare and business services.

Laitala designed Avesi’s control strategy to reflect this domain experience. It will partner with owner-operators of US lower-mid-market companies in healthcare services, healthcare technology and business services. Targets will have EBITDA of $10 million to $30 million and enterprise values of $50 million to $300 million.

Avesi’s senior team includes other high-profile investors. Among them is partner Chris Williams, who co-founded Harris Williams, a mid-market M&A advisory firm, before joining BDT & Company, a merchant bank affiliate of BDT Capital Partners.

It is not known if Avesi has already done deals. The firm did not respond to a request for comment on this story.

After the challenges of last year’s virus-roiled market, emerging managers seem to be riding the crest of much stronger fundraising conditions in 2021. Since January, a host of first timers, many of them founded by seasoned PE principals, have rolled out or closed new offerings.

Examples include BayPine, co-led by Silver Lake founder David Roux; GrowthCurve Capital, led by former Goldman Sachs’ merchant banking division co-head Sumit Rajpal; Maverix Private Equity, led by ex-OMERS Ventures CEO John Ruffolo; Patient Square Capital, led by former KKR healthcare head Jim Momtazee; and WestCap, led by ex-Blackstone CFO Laurence Tosi.