SKCP Catalyst Fund I Hits $400 Million Hard Cap In Four Months
New York, November 11, 2019 – SK Capital Partners, LP (“SK Capital”), a private investment firm focused on the specialty materials, chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors, announced today the final close of SKCP Catalyst Fund I (“SK Catalyst I”) at its hard cap, with limited partner capital commitments of $400 million.
SK Catalyst I will focus on control investments in the lower middle market utilizing the same sector-focused, operationally intensive investment strategy that SK Capital has executed throughout its history. The closing of SK Catalyst I, significantly above the initial $300 million target, follows the successful fundraising of SK Capital Partners V earlier this year.
Barry Siadat, Co-Founder and Managing Director of SK Capital, said, “We are honored and grateful for the trust our investors have placed with our firm to support the inaugural SK Catalyst fund. The success of the fundraise was made possible by the strong relationships SK Capital has built with our existing limited partners and select new investors.”
Fundraising for SK Catalyst I commenced in July 2019, shortly after SK Capital announced the expansion of its investment team. The expansion allows the firm to devote additional resources to investments in the lower middle market in the specialty materials, chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors. The SK Catalyst I investment team, comprised of experienced, industry-focused professionals, is led by Managing Directors Mario Toukan and Jon Borell.
Mario Toukan, Managing Director of SK Capital, said, “We are excited to leverage SK Capital’s strong reputation as a trusted partner within our sectors of focus. The addition of the SK Catalyst team and fund will enable the firm to pursue attractive lower middle market investments, while enhancing SK Capital’s overarching strategic objective to address a broader size range of opportunities in our space.”
SK Catalyst I will target lower middle market investments that generally require up to $50 million of initial committed equity capital and will complement SK Capital Partners V, which closed earlier this year with approximately $2.1 billion of capital commitments. Both funds will leverage SK Capital’s experience, best practices and resources, including the firm’s strong connectivity to people and companies in SK Capital’s sectors of focus. Utilizing the funds’ approximately $2.5 billion of combined capital commitments, the firm’s investment teams will work in a coordinated and integrated manner to make operationally-oriented control investments, typically through corporate carve-outs or in connection with the ownership transitions of family- and entrepreneur-owned businesses.
Jon Borell, Managing Director of SK Capital, added, “The SK Catalyst investment strategy will bring a significant level of industry expertise, global resources and scale to lower middle market businesses. We look forward to partnering with management teams in our industries to help them dramatically grow and improve their businesses.”
Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel. SK Capital did not use a placement agent for the fundraising of SKCP Catalyst I.
About SK Capital
SK Capital is a private investment firm with a disciplined focus on the specialty materials, chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors. The firm seeks to build strong and growing businesses that create substantial long-term economic value. SK Capital utilizes its industry, operating and investment experience to identify opportunities to transform businesses into higher performing organizations with improved strategic positioning, growth and profitability as well as lower operating risk. SK Capital’s portfolio of businesses generates revenues in excess of $9.0 billion annually, employs more than 10,000 people globally and operates 86 plants in 24 countries. The firm currently has approximately $4.6 billion of assets under management. For more information, please visit www.skcapitalpartners.com.