Lovell Minnick to seek $1 bln with latest flagship: sources

Lovell Minnick Partners, which just unveiled its newest crop of leaders, will return to market this year with its latest flagship, three sources said.

The Radnor, Pennsylvania, private equity firm is expected to seek $1 billion with its fifth PE fund, the people said. The target is a 33 percent jump from Lovell’s fourth institutional fund, which closed on $750 million in 2015. The firm’s third pool closed on $455 million in 2010.

Lovell Fund IV is approaching full investment and is now around 70 to 80 percent deployed, Buyouts reported in January.

The exact timing of Lovell’s fifth flagship has not been set but it will launch this year, one of the sources said.

Started in 1999, Lovell Minnick operates out of offices in New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. The firm typically invests between $30 million and $100 million equity per deal.

Once known for its asset-management focus, Lovell Minnick has expanded into business services, specialty finance, insurance and financial technology. The PE firm in 2017 also completed its first payments transaction, a minority stake in Engage People, and is looking at deals in insurance tech, Buyouts said.

The fundraising comes as Lovell Minnick last month set out growth plans. Steven Pierson and Robert Belke were named managing partners with day-to-day oversight of the buyout shop, including finance, operations and investor relations. The firm’s co-founders, Jeffrey Lovell and James Minnick, are continuing as co-chairmen.

The firm in 2017 was very active. Lovell Minnick last year completed seven platform deals, including CenterSquare, Global Financial Credit and Foreside Financial Group. The firm last week closed Tortoise Investments, a deal announced in 2017.

Lovell Minnick also took part in several add-ons in 2017 including Ray Mignone & Associates and Transfac Capital, according to PitchBook data.

The firm declined to comment.

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