Riverside Partners collects $532m for fund

Riverside Partners, a Boston-based middle-market private equity firm, has closed its new continuation fund at $532 million. The lead investor was Neuberger Berman. The fund was formed to provide financing for add-on acquisitions for Riverside Fund V’s seven portfolio companies. Lazard’s private capital advisory team served as financial advisor to Riverside Partners on the fundraising while Choate Hall and Stewart LLP was legal counsel. And, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP served as legal counsel to Neuberger Berman.

PRESS RELEASE

BOSTON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Riverside Partners, a Boston-based, middle market private equity firm, announced the closing of a new Continuation Fund, led by funds advised by Neuberger Berman, a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager.

The Continuation Fund and related vehicles are comprised of $532 million in capital commitments. The Continuation Fund was formed to provide fresh capital for add-on acquisitions for the seven portfolio companies of Riverside Fund V, L.P. (Fund V) and more time to support their continued growth, as well as to offer liquidity to existing limited partners. The fund raise was oversubscribed, and it was launched and completed within six months. All existing investors in Riverside Fund V were provided a choice to receive liquidity or continue their investment, including a status quo option.

“We are excited to complete the Continuation Fund for Riverside Fund V, which will provide us with additional capital and time to continue pursuing growth opportunities for the portfolio as we seek to generate additional returns for our investors,” said David Belluck, a General Partner of Riverside Partners. “With this transaction, we remain well positioned to support the management teams of the seven portfolio companies of Fund V and to further their growth initiatives, especially after completing several transformative combinations and add-on transactions in 2020.”

“In addition to the Fund V Continuation Fund, Riverside Partners is actively investing Fund VI with a continued focus on growth oriented middle market technology and healthcare companies,” continued Mr. Belluck. “Fund VI is almost half invested and we look forward to continued growth of the firm.”

Mr. Belluck concluded, “We are grateful to Neuberger Berman for leading the Continuation Fund, and we welcome RCP Advisors as an LP with its new investment. We are thrilled to begin partnering with both of them as well as continuing to serve our existing LPs, nearly 50 percent of whom elected to participate in the Continuation Fund. We could not be more enthusiastic to complete this process with support from an exceptional group of new investors and with significant participation by existing partners.”

Ben Perl, Managing Director at Neuberger Berman, said, “We are pleased to be able to partner with Riverside Partners. Consistent with their focus, these seven companies are concentrated in the growing technology and healthcare sectors. This transaction was structured to meet the needs of existing investors seeking accelerated liquidity as well as continuing and new investors. We believe that recapitalizing Fund V with additional capital and time will enable Riverside and the underlying management teams to continue to drive growth and create long-term value for all stakeholders.”

Lazard’s Private Capital Advisory team acted as financial advisor to Riverside Partners and Choate Hall and Stewart LLP served as legal counsel. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP served as legal counsel to Neuberger Berman.

About Riverside Partners
Founded in 1989, Riverside Partners is a middle market private equity firm with total capital commitments of $1.6 billion raised since inception. The firm focuses on growth-oriented companies in the technology and healthcare industries. Riverside Partners is particularly experienced at partnering with founders, owners and management teams and it brings substantial domain and operating experience to its portfolio companies. For more information, visit www.riversidepartners.com.

About Neuberger Berman Neuberger Berman, founded in 1939, is a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager. The firm manages a range of strategies—including equity, fixed income, quantitative and multi-asset class, private equity, real estate and hedge funds—on behalf of institutions, advisors and individual investors globally. With offices in 24 countries, Neuberger Berman’s diverse team has over 2,300 professionals. For six consecutive years, the company has been named first or second in Pensions & Investments Best Places to Work in Money Management survey (among those with 1,000 employees or more). In 2020, the PRI named Neuberger Berman a Leader, a designation awarded to fewer than 1% of investment firms for excellence in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices. The PRI also awarded Neuberger Berman an A+ in every eligible category for its approach to ESG integration across asset classes. The firm manages $405 billion in client assets as of December 31, 2020. For more information, please visit its website at www.nb.com.