Firms & Funds

Senior executive Craig Kahler departs ORIX Capital Partners

Kahler was hired by ORIX Capital in 2019 from Safanad to develop its mid-market buyout business.

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Craig Kahler, a managing director of ORIX USA’s private equity arm, left the organization, a source with knowledge of the matter told Buyouts.

Kahler was hired by ORIX Capital Partners in 2019 to develop its mid-market buyout business. He was previously a senior director of private equity at Safanad.

A second source confirmed the departure but said it is impending. Kahler is still listed on ORIX Capital’s website as part of the New York investment and operations team led by president and senior managing director Chris Suan. The firm declined to comment.

It is not clear where Kahler may be going.

Earlier this year, other ORIX investment professionals left for Prolign Capital, an emerging manager focused on the North American lower mid-market. Prolign’s managing partner is Jeff Sangalis, founder and ex-head of ORIX Private Equity Solutions, according to his LinkedIn profile.

ORIX Capital was launched in 2016 to make control investments in North American companies with EBITDA of $20 million to $50 million. It targets fragmented and asset-light sectors, such as automation solutions, environmental services, infrastructure and utility services, marketing services and telecom services.

The firm got started as a deal-by-deal investor but eventually decided to raise an inaugural third-party fund anchored by ORIX, Private Equity International reported in 2017.

ORIX Capital Fund I secured more than $658 million against an undisclosed target in 2021, Form D documents said.

ORIX Capital has made seven platform investments, according to its website, one of them realized. Its most recent acquisition, made two years ago, is Odin, a self-performing environmental remediation and geotechnical construction company.

Along with ORIX Capital, ORIX’s US alternative businesses include Boston Financial, Lument, NXT Capital and Signal Peak Capital Management.

Update: This story was updated to remove discussion about Kahler’s future plans and the status of ORIX’s US private equity operations.