Firms & Funds

Andrew Ward, ex-Riverstone executive, hits market with debut fund

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Andrew Ward, Riverstone Partners, Clearstream Capital Partners, private equity
A man walks on a bridge crossing over the Besor stream on a rainy day, near Kibbutz Tze'elim in Israel's southern Negev desert February 16, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC16C7D84430
  • Ward was a partner at Riverstone
  • Debut targets $750 mln for midstream energy
  • Hired ex-Morgan Stanley banker this year

Andrew Ward, the former senior dealmaker at Riverstone Partners, is in the market with the debut fund for his new shop, Clearstream Capital Partners, sources told Buyouts.

Clearstream is targeting $750 million for the first fund, which will focus on midstream oil and gas assets, the people said. Fundraising is just starting and is expected to wrap up next year, they said.

A spokesperson for Clearstream declined to comment. Bloomberg earlier reported on the fundraising.

Ward, a Riverstone partner, left last year for undisclosed reasons. He’d worked at the energy giant since 2002. He was a member of the investment and the management committees at Riverstone. Ward was responsible for investments with an emphasis on the midstream sector.

His past deals included Bridger, Buckeye, Gibson Energy, HES International, Kinder Morgan, Magellan, Mistral Energy and USA Compression, his biography on an archived version of Riverstone’s website said.

Earlier this year, Ward hired a former Morgan Stanley managing director, Michael George, as a managing partner at Clearstream. Prior to Morgan Stanley, George worked at Deutsche Bank for almost seven years, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Ward is following a path that has led to fundraising success for first-time managers: He is a well-known investor in the market with a track record he can tout.

Clearstream is one of more than 40 emerging firms Buyouts is tracking in the market this year trying to raise capital. The emerging-manager market has grown in popularity over the past few years, leading to a rising level of fundraising volume since last year, according to Buyouts research.

Buyouts will dive deep into this topic in its Dec. 4 issue.

Action Item: Check out the Buyouts emerging-manager-story archive: http://bit.ly/2izSw75

A man walks on a bridge crossing over the Besor stream on a rainy day, near Kibbutz Tze’elim in Israel’s southern Negev desert on Feb. 16, 2017. Photo courtesy Reuters/Amir Cohen