First-timer Coral Tree, with Shamrock pedigree, to close debut fund

Raising a first-time fund is no easy feat, made especially tougher in today’s environment when LPs are besieged with re-up requests from their existing managers, who are coming back faster with larger funds and new products.

So when one closes, it’s a significant event. Coral Tree Partners closed its debut fund recently on $450 million, beating its original target and even its cap, sources told Buyouts.

The firm is expected to officially announce the final close this week. It’s not clear if the final tally is even higher including the GP commitment. Will Wynperle, a founding partner with Coral Tree, didn’t comment when reached about the fundraising. Credit Suisse worked as placement agent on the fundraising.

Coral Tree, formed by long-time Shamrock Capital Advisors executives Wynperle and Alan Resnikoff, boosted the hard cap on the fund to account for more demand, one of the sources said.

The firm targets investments in lower mid-market companies in the media, entertainment, communications and related business services segments, mostly in North America, according to Coral Tree’s Form ADV.

Coral Tree this month led a $20 million funding round in Loaded, a talent and marketing agency focused on gaming and creators. The firm in February made an investment in Subject Matter, a creative advocacy agency based in Washington, DC. Chief executive officer Nicole Cornish was set to continue leading the company, along with Subject Matter’s founders.

The first fund charges a 2 percent management fee and 20 percent performance fee, the Form ADV said.

Wynperle was a long-time executive at Shamrock, where he had worked since 1998, according to his LinkedIn profile. He left the firm last year, his profile said.

Resnikoff worked at Shamrock for almost 12 years, leaving last year as a partner. He focused on sports, gaming, content and marketing-services businesses, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was a director at numerous Shamrock portfolio companies, including Ad Results Media, Pixellot, Appetize, Maple Media and Silvergate Media, his profile said.

Shamrock closed its latest flagship fund on $1 billion in June.

Coral Tree is among a handful of first-timers pushing through the tough fundraising market to attract capital from LPs. Another newbie, Knox Lane, founded by ex-TPG Growth partners John Bailey and Shamik Patel, closed its inaugural offering at $610 million last month.