Avante Closes Oversubscribed Third Fund with a Total of $450m

Avante Capital Partners has held a final closing of two new funds, Avante Capital Partners SBIC III LP and Avante Capital Partners SBIC III-A LP (together Fund III).

Women and minority-owned Avante’s new fund received support from both new and existing investors including pension funds, insurance companies, endowments, family offices, and banks. Fund III was oversubscribed by 50% and closed with a total of $450m of capital commitments, including Small Business Administration leverage.

“Thank you to our limited partners for the overwhelming support we received for our third fund,” said Jeri Harman, the founder and chairman of Avante. “We are grateful to have so many partners who believe in our proven strategy, our unique team and our continued mission to not only deliver superior returns but also to increase diversity within the private equity and finance industry.”

Like prior funds, Fund III will invest between $7 million and $45 million in the form of unitranche/one-stop debt, mezzanine debt, and minority equity in United States-based companies with EBITDA of $3 million to $20 million and EBITDA margins of greater than 10%. Sectors of interest include healthcare, business services, education, software, and niche manufacturing.

A recent transaction that Avante backed was NexPhase Capital’s buy of Selerix Systems, a Texas-headquartered provider of a suite of cloud-based benefits administration and employee engagement software. At that time, Joel Killion, a partner at NexPhase, commented that “Avante has proven to be a value-add partner with their thoughtful diligence and speed of execution in the underwriting process, and we are looking forward to collaborating with them going forward.”

“We are firm believers that to whom much is given, much is required. As such, we are thrilled to be partnering with each and every one of our limited partners,” said Ivelisse Simon, Avante’s managing partner. “Their support will enable us to continue to strive for excellence both in generating best-in-class returns and in driving positive change within our industry. Our team is excited to be embarking on this journey to broaden and deepen our impact as a leading capital solutions provider in the lower middle market.”

Avante Capital Partners is headquartered in Los Angeles.

Source: Private Equity Professional