Edgewater Capital hires veteran operators to specialize as it closes Fund IV

By
Chris Witkowsky
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Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund, private equity, venture capital, pension fund
The Cleveland skyline and Lake Erie at dusk. Photo courtesy Davel5957/iStock/Getty Images
  • Edgewater Capital drills down into specialty and advanced materials
  • Hired Rakesh Kapoor and Chris Springer
  • Closed Fund IV on hard cap

Edgewater Capital Partners has brought on two executives to target subsectors within its overall performance-materials strategy with its newly closed $185 million fourth fund, according to Bob Girton, a principal at the firm.

The Independence, Ohio, firm took about five months to raise Fund IV, Girton said. The original target was $175 million, he said.

The largest investors in the fund include Duke University’s endowment fund and Private Advisors, sources said.

Edgewater Capital Partners IV hasn’t yet begun to invest, Girton said.

Edgewater, formed in 1998, hired Rakesh Kapoor to lead its advanced-materials strategy and Chris Springer to run specialty materials.

Kapoor joined after 17 years at Saint-Gobain, which works in ceramics, plastics, glass, abrasives, technical fabrics and construction products. Most recently, he was chief executive at Materials Outovation.

Springer joined in January after nine years at Alliance Holdings. He also worked at Dow Chemical and Rohm & Haas earlier in his career. The firm plans to add more subsector leaders going forward, Girton said.

Edgewater Capital Partners, not to be confused with Chicago-based Edgewater Funds, has grown its fund sizes, while remaining small enough to continue targeting the lower-middle market.

According to Form D fundraising filings, Edgewater Capital closed Fund III on $83 million from 16 investors in 2015. Fund II raised about $30 million in 2007.

The firm is controlled by Managing Partners Christopher Childres, founder, and Ryan Meany.

Action Item: Check out Edgewater’s Form ADV here: https://bit.ly/2BKWKlG