Primus Capital Raises $273.2M, Ups Target

Cleveland-based private equity shop Primus Capital has raised approximately $273.2 million for its seventh fund, according to a July regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The firm is trying to raise $400 million for Primus Capital Fund VII LP, according to the filing. That suggests the firm has increased its target by a healthy $100 million, considering a March filing listed the target as $300 million, as Buyouts previously reported.

Such an increase in target size is a bold move in a relatively challenging fundraising market, suggesting investors are warming to Primus’s story. Twenty two investors have so far backed the fund, according to the filing, up from nine investors in the March filing. Past investors have included the Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund. The firm also does not appear to be employing a placement agent to help it raise the fund.

Managing Director Loyal Wilson, who founded the firm back in 1983, did not immediately respond to request for comment. Before starting Primus, Wilson held various roles in the private equity group of First Chicago Corp., according to Primus’s Web site. Primus has 11 investment professionals, according to the site. 

Primus invests $15 million to $40 million in buyouts, minority recapitalizations and growth financings in the business services, health care and education sectors. It typically holds its investments for three to seven years.

The firm’s most recent deal came in June, when it bought Advanced Answers On Demand Inc., a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based developer of software for the health care industry, from Israeli buyout shop Fortissimo Capital. Primus has 17 companies in portfolio, including American Institutes Holdings LLC, a White Plains, N.Y.-based operator of post-secondary schools.