Tinicum forms LP as part of portfolio company spin-off; didn’t raise new fund as reported

An earlier story by Buyouts about a new private equity fund being raised by Tinicom was untrue and has been withdrawn.

Tinicum Capital Partners II-2 LP was formed in connection with the spin-out. The firm declined to comment on which portfolio company was involved in the transaction.

The Form D filing for Tinicum Capital Partners II-2 LP included a total offering amount of $533.8 million, which represents the value of the securities of the portfolio company contributed by Tinicum Capital Partners II LP to Tinicum Capital Partners II-2, the spokesman said.

Tinicum Inc lists four private equity funds on its website, including the vintage 2012 Tinicum LP, which raised $1.5 billion and its currently investing, the firm said.

Established in 2004, Tinicum Capital Partners II LP raised $1.2 billion and is fully invested, according to the firm’s website.

New York and San Francisco-based Tinicum Inc traces its roots to the late Derald H. Ruttenberg, who once owned and ran auto parts firm Studebacker-Worthington (which had made the Studebaker automobile) and who pioneered the use of leverage to make acquisitions.

His son, Eric Ruttenberg, works as co-managing partner of Tinicum, along with Terry O’Toole, co-managing partner.

Tinicum lists 13 current portfolio companies on its website, including three from 2014: Pontos Aqua Holdings LLC, a food and agriculture firm, Flat Rock Energy, an oil and gas company with holdings in the Utica and Marcellus shale of Ohio, and F&W Media Inc, a content and ecommerce company.

The website also lists 23 realized investments dating back to 1999, including Accuride Corp, Chicago Bridge & Iron Co, Flowserve Corp, Nutrisystem Inc, and R360 Environmental Solutions.

Tinicum was founded by Derald Ruttenberg, who “established his family’s wealth through numerous investments in various industries,” according to the website. After being founded to manage the holdings of the Ruttenberg family, Tinicum began managing outside capital in 1998.

Tinicum typically targets an equity investment size of $25 million to $150 million but it will consider investments outside that range. The firm invests in both controlling interests and minority stakes, often securing representation on the company’s board. It pursues proprietary ideas to find investments and focuses on the strength of each business, “not on quick returns,” according to the website.

The Ruttenberg family played a role in the formation of investment firms Forstmann Little & Co and Farallon Capital Management, Buyouts reported in 2012.

The elder Ruttenberg, who died in 2004, provided financing for the Derald H. Ruttenberg Cancer Center at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital.