TowerBrook fund breaks US$1bn mark

TowerBrook Capital Partners, the US buyout house, has closed its second fund, raising US$1.3bn for TowerBrook Investors LP II. It is the first fund the firm has raised since it changed its spinout from Soros Fund Management. Like its 2001 predecessor, the new funds will target large and mid-market companies, investing between US$50m and US$150m, either through backing LBOs or taking control of distressed businesses.

The closing comes just a few months after the firm sold Swiss cable operator Cablecom to Liberty Global for €1.8bn, making a reported 4x return on its 2003 investment alongside Apollo Management and Goldman Sachs. When acquired, Cablecom was in financial difficulty, and the deal saw the syndicate acquire 15% of the company’s debt. It was refinanced twice before its sale to Liberty.

TowerBrook I is fully invested, with 16 companies under management.