Littlejohn & Co. Chipping Away At Fourth Fund

Littlejohn & Co. has closed on nearly $400 million in capital commitments from 12 investors toward its fourth fund, according to a regulatory filing.

The Greenwich, Conn.-based turnaround firm came to market with Littlejohn Fund IV LP in January. Since then, the firm has collected $328 million for the fund, and an additional $70 million for a parallel fund. Fund IV has a target of around $1.32 billion, according to the filing. Some industry reports, however, have pegged that figure as the fund’s hard cap, noted a target of $1.25 billion for the vehicle. Park Hill is serving as placement agent.

If the target is reached, the fund will be a significant jump for Littlejohn & Co., which is coming off of an $850 million third fund. That vehicle initially had only $650 million in commitments, but raised an additional $200 million in 2006. Raising a top-off fund allowed the firm to avoid heading out to market to raise another formal partnership, while LPs were able to commit more capital to the firm without competing for slots with new investors.

According Oregon Public Employee’s Retirement Fund, Littlejohn Fund II has returned 1.48x its money. The pension fund invested $50 million to the vintage-1999 fund.

Littlejohn & Co.’s media representative declined to comment for this story.