Marlin Equity to close above hard cap

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In a time of fund-raising “haves” and “have-nots,” Marlin Equity Partners is decidedly a “have.”

The mid-market private equity firm, which entered the market with its third fund only a few months ago, is just days away from holding a first and final close that would exceed its hard cap, according to two sources familiar with the situation. Probitas Partners is serving as placement agent.

Marlin declined to comment.

As previously reported, El Segundo, Calif.-based Marlin Equity is seeking to raise $450 million, according to a regulatory filing

The amount raised to date is not clear, but sources said that the fund topped its target by at least $100 million, while another published report put the final figure at $575 million.

Marlin raised $300 million for its second fund, which closed in 2006, and $64 million for its debut fund in 2005. Limited partners include DuPont Capital Management, Private Advisors and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Deals this year include:

• Servigistics, an Atlanta-based provider of strategic service management software;

• The battery systems business of Tyco Electronics, a $25 million deal;

• MDeverywhere Inc., a Hauppauge, N.Y.-based provider of software-as-a-service for physician revenue cycle management;

• Qwik+Cross, a provider of clearinghouse services for Medicare claims to supplemental insurance carriers;

• Three software units from Requisite Technology, formerly known as Click Commerce; and

• Emptoris Inc., a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based provider of enterprise supply and contract management software.

Such great fortune is not the case with many funds currently in the market. Another source compared the success of Marlin Equity’s fund-raising to Charlesbank Capital and Riverside Partners, two of the strongest middle market fund-raising efforts this year.

In September, Charlesbank closed its seventh fund with $1.5 billion in commitments, beating its target of $1.25 billion in five months.

For its part, Riverside Partners’ fourth fund has, in five months, topped its prior fund, which had $225 million in commitments. The firm has collected $234 million for its fourth fund, with plans to close on its $400 million hard cap by the end of the year, according to a Nov. 23 article in LBO Wire. —Erin Griffith