The $1.1 bln buyout of P.F. Chang’s is the year’s biggest restaurant LBO so far

Centerbridge Partners LP has so far raised more than $3.8 billion for its second fund, Buyouts reported yesterday, citing a recent regulatory filing. Buyouts reported in August 2010, when the firm began marketing the fund, that the New York-based shop was seeking $3.75 billion in commitments for the fund, Centerbridge Capital Partners II LP. It’s [...]

Just as VC fundraising roared back to life in Q1, so did fundraising on the buyout and mezzanine side of the private equity market. Sister magazine Buyouts this week reported that U.S.-based buyout and mezzanine firms raised $18.3 billion in Q1, up 79 percent from $10.2 billion during the same period last year. Fundraising also grew sequentially, up 36 percent from the Q4. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. took in a tad over $1 billion for its latest effort in Q1, according to our calculations–but that was only good for seventh place among buyout and mezzanine shops that closed on capital last quarter. Click through for a slideshow leading you throught the top 10.

Centerbridge Partners LP has so far raised $2.2 billion for its second fund, according to a regulatory filing Thursday.

The New York-based shop is seeking to raise $3.75 billion for the fund, Centerbridge Capital Partners II LP, according to a previous report in sister publication Buyouts . The fund strategy is a hybrid of buyout and distressed-for-influence-or-control investments.

The fund has been among the most popular in recent months, garnering commitments from at least 53 investors, according to Buyouts, including the Nashville and Davidson County Metropolitan Government Employee Benefit Trust Fund, which committed $30 million. Subscribers can see the full report here.

An executive at the firm did not return a call seeking comment.