First Chicago Woos Finance Company –

First Chicago Equity Capital this month invested $11.5 million in accounting and finance company Parson Group LLC, and will continue investing at a brisk pace until the firm has about $500 million invested in privately-held companies.

First Chicago, the private equity arm of Banc One Corp., currently has $150 million in assets under management, according to Chris Saenger, a principal at the firm.

The firm’s goal is to deploy about $75 million per year in equity of Banc One’s capital until $500 million has been deployed. “We’re pretty much in full investment mode now,” Mr. Saenger said. About 15% of capital invested will be the personal wealth of the group’s partners.

Parson Group, based in Chicago, was founded in 1995 and provides project outsourcing and financial consulting to Fortune 1000 companies. The company posted 1998 revenue of $41 million. It has 14 offices throughout the U.S.

The transaction gives First Chicago a minority stake in Parson Group of an undisclosed size. First Chicago takes both minority and majority stakes in its investments.

Outsourcing is a business that has captured First Chicago’s interest before. In 1997, the firm invested $5 million in equity in Integrated Partnerships, a temporary staffing company specializing in information technology skills.

First Chicago has been making private equity investments since the 1950s. Partners from the firm have gone on to found other well-known buyout shops, including Golder, Thoma, Cressy, Rauner, Inc, Madison Dearborn Partners and Brinson Partners.