Wayzata Scores Big Exit Amid Fundraise

The recent sale of Anchor Glass Container Corp. should only bolster Wayzata Investment Partners’s already strong showing in the fundraising market for its third fund.

On July 20, Luxembourg-based Ardagh Group announced it was buying the Tampa, Fla.-based maker of glass containers in a deal valued at $880 million. Wayzata is likely in line for a handsome exit considering it bought Anchor, formerly backed by Cerberus Capital Management, in 2006 after it emerged from bankruptcy.  

Meanwhile, the firm, which spun out of Cargill Inc. in 2004, has already raised $1.1 billion for its third fund, Wayzata Opportunities Fund III LP, a source confirmed to Buyouts. Successful recent exits are always a welcome sign for investors evaluating funds.

Over the last few months the Wayzata, Minn.-based shop has collected several commitments from well known pensions. The New Mexico Public Employees Retirement Association, Kentucky Retirement Systems and most recently the Texas County & District Retirement System committed or announced plans to commit $35 million, $50 million and $75 million, respectively, according to Pensions & Investments.

Wayzata invests in undervalued debt, equity and assets and manages more than $7 billion, according to the firm’s Web site. Its portfolio includes Gainey Corp., a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based provider of trucking services; Lazy Days RV Center Inc., a Tampa, Fla.-based recreational vehicle dealer; and Star-Tribune Media Co. LLC, the publisher of the Star-Tribune and other newspapers, according to Capital IQ.

The firm is led by Managing Partner Patrick Halloran, a former member of Dean Witter Reynolds’s corporate finance department, and has a total of six senior investment professionals.

Executives at Wayzata Investment were not available for comment.