Riverside’s latest SBIC fund raises $140 mln toward $225 mln target

Riverside Micro-Cap Fund III LP is earmarked to acquire North American companies generating EBITDA of $1 million to $5 million, a notch smaller than the firm targets with its core “Capital Appreciation” funds. The fund marks a successor to Riverside Micro-Cap Fund II, which closed at $137 million in commitments in 2011, well above its $100 million target. 

Riverside’s micro-cap funds target fast-growing companies with the potential for even strong performance through the addition of new management, the movement into new markets or the completion of strategic add-on acquisitions, the firm said.

Past investors in the fund series include BMO Harris Bank, The Cleveland Foundation, Key Community Development Corp, Paragon Advisors and the State of Michigan Retirement System, according to a 2011 statement from Riverside.

The SBIC program is administered by the federal government’s Small Business Administration. Firms raising SBICs can leverage them up to two times equity raised with a cap of $150 million in debt.