Roark Capital seeks $2.5 bln for Fund IV

The Atlanta-based PE firm has been out marketing for Roark Capital Partners IV LP this year. Roark Capital had been expected to target at least $1.5 billion for Fund IV, peHUB previously reported.

One limited partner said the $2.5 billion target “seems like a big number” but that the fundraising is generating a “lot of demand.” Lazard Freres & Co. is the placement agent for the fourth fund, the filing said. Lazard was also the placement agent for Roark Capital’s Fund III.

Roark Capital’s third fund closed on $1.5 billion in October 2012. Roark Capital Partners II LP. meanwhile, collected $1 billion in 2008. Fund III produced a 6.16 percent net IRR and a 1x multiple as of March 31, according to performance data from the Washington State Investment Board.

Performance numbers for Roark Capital’s second fund were not available.

Roark Capital invests in franchise, brand management, environmental services and marketing services companies. The firm has made investments in Arby’s, Auntie Anne’s, Cinnabon, Hardee’s and Miller’s Ale House.

Roark Fund IV received a roughly $200 million commitment from the Washington State Investment Board. Roark Capital will likely invest between 40 percent and 60 percent of Fund IV in the franchise industry, Buyouts said, citing a report by advisory shop Hamilton Lane.

The fundraising comes as Roark Capital recently exited Fastsigns. In July, Levine Leichtman Capital Partners said it was buying the franchisor of signs and graphics. The deal represented a more than 10-year hold for Roark Capital, which acquired Fastsigns in October 2003. Fastsigns is no longer listed as a Roark Capital portfolio company on the firm’s website.

Executives for Roark Capital and Lazard could not immediately be reached for comment.

Luisa Beltran is a senior reporter for sister website peHUB.