Monomoy spinout MiddleGround sets cap on debut; reaches second close

MiddleGround Capital, a spinout from Monomoy Capital, has set a cap on its debut fund at $450 million as it held a second close on about $212 million, a person with knowledge of the firm told Buyouts.

MiddleGround launched Fund I in August. It held a first close on more than $140 million around early January, Buyouts reported.

At the time, MiddleGround had not yet set a cap on the fund, which has been targeting $425 million. Fund I could hold a final close in the second quarter, the person said.

The firm has grown from its three founders to a total of 16 employees. Ex-Monomoy Partner John Stewart and Directors Lauren Mulholland and Scot Duncan left the firm in 2017 and formed MiddleGround last year.

Stewart and Duncan both have extensive operating experience in their backgrounds at Toyota. Stewart spent years as a manager at Toyota, his LinkedIn profile said. He joined Monomoy in 2007 and was made partner in 2016. He rose to co-lead PE investments and also headed the operations group, he said in his profile.

Duncan started at Monomoy in 2008, prior to which he also worked at Toyota in engineering and production. Mulholland, who joined Monomoy in 2011, was an associate at Macquarie Group.

MiddleGround made its first investment last year, acquiring Alco Manufacturing from Blue Point Capital. The firm targets companies with less than $200 million of enterprise value.

MiddleGround last year received a $75 million anchor commitment from Archean Capital Partners, a joint venture of Veritable and Moelis Asset Management.

Action Item: Read MiddleGround’s Form ADV here: https://bit.ly/2EjFjdM