Ohio Police and Fire backs Tenex II

The Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund committed up to $40 million to Tenex Capital Management’s second flagship fund at its meeting on Dec. 16, spokesman David Graham said in an email.

The Dec. 16 commitment marks the $14 billion pension system’s first investment with Tenex, a New York based middle market specialist. The firm beat its debut fund’s target by a wide a wide margin, raising $452 million on a $400 million target in 2011, Buyouts reported.

Tenex was founded by 2009 by several former Cerberus Capital Management executives, including Michael Green, J.P. Bretl, Varun Bedi, Joe Cottone and Chad Spooner. The firm’s investment strategy emphasizes making operational changes at its portfolio companies, rather than financial engineering, according to its website.

Its first fund netted a 1.35x multiple through Oct. 31, according to New Jersey Division of Investment data. New Jersey committed $50 million to the fund in 2010 and later acquired an additional $20 million stake in Fund I on the secondary market.

It is not clear what Tenex is targeting for Fund II. The firm’s investor relations department did not respond to a request for comment.

In September, Tenex sold industrial cutting tools business Technicks Industries to Audax Group for an undisclosed amount. The firm also sold its stake in Medical Solutions to Beecken Petty O’Keefe & Company and Heritage Group that month.

Ohio Police & Fire committed $313 million to private markets funds in 2015. The pension valued its private markets portfolio, which includes private equity, at approximately $790 million. Ohio Police & Fire is approximately 2.3 percentage points short of its target allocation to the asset class.

Action Item: Tenex’s website is www.tenexcm.com

Photo courtesy of Reuters