Madden Departs Questor, Launches Centurion Capital –

Michael Madden is the latest pro to strike out on his own. The former investment banking head at Kidder Peabody & Lehman and Questor Management vet launched his own distressed buyout shop, Centurion Capital Partners, earlier this month.

The move coincides with Questor’s latest fundraising efforts in which the firm is reportedly seeking between $750 million and $1 billion.

Regarding the move, Madden told Buyouts, “This is really about pursuing an opportunity to fulfill a vision I have been developing for past two years.”

The new firm will focus on the lower end of the middle market, a space Madden referred to as an “underserved” area of the market. Centurion’s industry focus will target the energy, transportation, manufacturing and business services sector, and Madden anticipates the firm will invest between $20 million and $40 million of equity per transaction. The firm is expected to target a fund of between $300 million and $400 million.

In the meantime, Madden said Centurion is actively seeking out partners for a wharehousing agreement in which Centurion will find investments, to be acquired by multiple funding sources that will then allow Centurion to come back in at a later date and participate in the investment.

Questor Vice Presidents Garrett Kanehann and Jason Runco are joining Madden at Centurion, and Caledonia Group Founder Harry Watson has signed on as well. The firm has already set up offices in New York and Detroit, and according to Madden, Centurion has already looked at “a substantial number of [potential] deals.”