Exclusive: Littlejohn closes Fund V on $2 bln hard cap

Littlejohn & Co has held a final close for its fifth fund on its hard cap of $2 billion, according to a person with knowledge of the fundraising.

Littlejohn Fund V LP had been targeting $1.5 billion, but already had surpassed the original target by May. Chris Tofalli, a spokesman for the firm, declined to comment. Park Hill Group worked as placement agent on the fundraising.

Fund V closed last week. The fund hit the market around January and could have closed sooner but the firm waited for some LPs to get commitments approved, the person said. “This was done back in March or April,” the person said.

The firm was founded in 1996 by Angus Littlejohn and Michael Klein. It closed Fund IV on $1.34 billion in 2010, beating the $1.25 billion target. Fund III closed in 2005 on $850 million.

Limited partners in Fund IV authorized the firm to expand its focus to invest in non-control positions as well as conventional leveraged buyouts, Littlejohn said in a 2010 statement. The firm was targeting about 80 percent of its capital in control deals and the remainder in distressed opportunities with the intent to gain control. Fund V will continue the strategy.

Fund IV has been generating a 1.42x total value multiple and a 19.3 percent internal rate of return as of Sept. 30, 2013, according to performance information from the Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund. Fund III was producing a 2.36x total value multiple and a 26.1 percent IRR, according to Oregon.

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