Roark Capital Seeks $5 Billion for New Flagship Fund

Midmarket private-equity firm Roark Capital Group is pitching its sixth flagship fund after closing a new restaurant-focused fund on nearly $1.4 billion last year, according to people familiar with the offering.

The Atlanta-based firm has set a fundraising target of $5 billion for the new fund, the people said. That would make the fund the same size as its predecessor, Roark Capital Partners V LP, which closed on its upper limit of $5 billion in 2018. At that time the firm also raised a separate $1.5 billion fund to invest alongside its fifth flagship fund.

Roark didn’t respond to requests for comment on its latest fund.

The firm invests in franchise and multilocation business models in restaurant, health, wellness and beauty, specialty retail, and consumer and business services. Its equity investments typically range from $50 million to $1 billion or more in companies with revenue of between $20 million and $5 billion and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of between $10 million and $500 million, according to the firm’s website.

Restaurants and food investments account for the largest share of Roark’s investments, its website said. In April 2020, the firm collected $1.4 billion for its Roark Diversified Restaurant Fund II LP, which will invest in midmarket restaurants based in North America

Recently, Roark Capital’s portfolio company, Driven Brands – one of the largest U.S. auto services franchisers –  is looking to raise as much as $760 million through an initial public offering. Last year, private equity firm Roark Capital, which acquired Driven from Harvest Partners in 2015, had considered selling it for about $2 billion.

Read More: WSJ