Guidepost Growth, formerly North Bridge Growth, targets $400 mln

Guidepost rebranded in 2017, at which time it was talking to potential investors about its third fund.

Guidepost Growth Equity, formerly known for many years as North Bridge Growth Equity, officially hit the market with its next fund targeting $400 million, according to sources and an SEC filing.

Guidepost rebranded in 2017, at which time it was talking to potential investors about its third fund, Buyouts exclusively reported. It’s not clear why the firm is only coming to market with the pool now.

Doug Kingsley, co-founder and managing partner at Guidepost, did not respond to a request for comment. Guidepost Growth Equity III filed fundraising documents with the SEC on Dec. 5.

FocusPoint Private Capital Group is listed as placement agent on the fundraising documents.

Guidepost makes later-stage investments in businesses with $40 million to more than $100 million in revenue, targeting technology companies disrupting large markets in business services, communications, infrastructure, software and healthcare IT. Check sizes range from $20 million to $75 million, with $35 million to $45 million being a typical amount.

Guidepost, as North Bridge Growth, started as an affiliate of Boston’s North Bridge Venture Partners. It was set up as a separate business with its own management company and investment team, Buyouts previously reported.

“Ten years ago when we started, growth equity was not particularly in vogue,” Kingsley said at the time. Since then, the sector has matured a great deal, though firms tend to define the strategy in different ways.

Kingsley co-founded the firm in 2007, prior to which he spent 15 years at Advent International. Other senior executives at Guidepost are managing partners who have been with the firm since 2007: Roshen Menon; Mike Pehl; and Russ Pyle.

In October, Guidepost invested $31 million in Green Rabbit, an e-commerce logistics provider to the food services industry. And in June, the firm made a minority investment in ActiveViam, a provider of in-memory data analytics software solutions.

Action Item: Check out Guidepost’s Form ADV here: https://bit.ly/2PdBaxs