Culpeper Capital stops new investments, founder David King and staff join Fortress

King is now a managing director in Fortress’s credit group, which is led by Fortress Co-Chairman Peter Briger. Meanwhile, Culpeper Managing Director Scott Lustig and Associate William Quirk have joined Fortress Strategic Capital, as an MD and associate, respectively, King said. Fortress Strategic Capital focuses on financial services across the capital structure, and invests both debt and equity and seeks control and non-control stakes, he added.

“We’ve moved to Fortress, and Culpeper will cease to make new investments,” said King, who joined Fortress in July. Culpeper’s existing investments “will continue to exist until monetized,” he said.

King launched Culpeper Capital Partners in 2011 to invest in financial services and business services companies with a financial services focus or customers. The firm invested $20 million to $200 million per transaction, and Fortress co-invested with on deals.

New York-based Fortress, which had about $63.8 billion in assets under management as of June 30, was the first alternative investment firm to go public in February 2007. Blackstone followed months later when it sold shares in June of that year.

Prior to founding Culpeper, King was one of eight senior MDs at Irving Place Capital, the PE firm previously known as Bear Stearns Merchant Banking. BSMB split off from Bear Stearns after the investment bank collapsed and was acquired by JP Morgan Chase in 2008. BSMB then renamed itself Irving Place.