Lion Capital tops $1 bln for Fund IV, continues fundraising

Lion Capital, the consumer-focused firm based in London, is holding a close on its fourth buyout fund in December with more than $1 billion, according to a source.

Fund IV is targeting $2.5 billion with a $3 billion hard cap, Buyouts previously reported.

After using Park Hill Group on Fund III in 2011, Lion Capital is working with New York-based Mercury Capital Advisors on the fundraising effort for Fund IV.

On the deal front, Lion Capital on December 3 scrapped plans to sell Bumble Bee Foods LLC to Thai Union Group PCL, owner of Chicken of the Sea tuna, after the U.S. Department of Justice “informed the companies it had serious concerns that the proposed transaction would harm competition,” according to the DOJ.

The sale would have returned more than 4.5 times Lion Capital’s Bumble Bee investment, Buyouts previously reported.

A Lion Capital spokeswoman declined to comment on the failed deal or about current fundraising.

Lion Capital Fund III generated an IRR of 14.3 percent as of March 31 for the Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund. Fund II produced an IRR of negative 5.2 percent as of December 31, 2014, for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. Fund I logged an IRR of 23.5 percent as of March 31 for Oregon.

Lion Capital was founded in 2004 by Robert Darwent, Lyndon Lea and Neil Richardson.

Investments by the firm include British cereal brand Weetabix, which it exited in April, and Jimmy Choo shoes. Fund III investments include AllSaints, Bumble Bee, John Varvatos, Perricone MD and Picard.

Action Item: See Department of Justice statement about proposed Bumble Bee sale: http://1.usa.gov/1PV80OU

Photo: A lions yawns at Nairobi’s National Park March 11, 2013. REUTERS/Marko Djurica