Strong investor demand drives above-target final close of Northleaf's first direct private equity fund

Investors commit US$385 million to Northleaf Capital Opportunities, surpassing its target fund size

Northleaf Capital Partners (“Northleaf”), a leading global private markets investment firm, is pleased to announce the successful final close of Northleaf Capital Opportunities (“NCO” or the “Fund”). Investors entrusted US$385 million of capital to NCO, exceeding the Fund’s original US$350 million target, and bringing total Northleaf private equity capital raised in the past 12 months to US$2 billion.

"We are very pleased by the strong support from new and existing investors in our first direct private equity investment fund,” said Mike Flood, Managing Director & Head of Private Equity at Northleaf. “We launched NCO as a value-added co-investment fund that leverages the strengths of the broader Northleaf platform, our twenty-year co-investment track record and our network of fund sponsor relationships to provide investors with differentiated access to mid-market company value creation.”

Investors are attracted to NCO’s strategy which is focused on investing in mature, cash-generating mid-market businesses in recession resilient sectors. To date, investors in NCO have benefitted from having more than 55% of their capital prudently invested across a diversified portfolio of 20 leading mid-market companies. Given strong early performance, the Fund is expecting a partial realization for one of its investments, which will return more than 50% of invested capital in the company. A number of additional realizations are anticipated in the second half of 2022.

“NCO’s portfolio of leading mid-market companies is performing well, and we are excited about the strong pipeline of opportunities for the fund,” said Matt Shafer, Managing Director & Head of Direct Private Equity at Northleaf. “Our strategy is to make non-control investments in mature, cash-generating companies with strong market positions and identified growth opportunities at attractive valuations. We have demonstrated an ability to actively source and structure transactions that generate strong returns with short duration and lower risk. NCO’s active, disciplined and highly selective approach is well-suited to provide our investors with direct access to the significant opportunities that today’s more challenging market will produce.”

Northleaf has been investing in private equity-backed mid-market companies since 2001. Over the past twenty years, investors have entrusted more than US$11 billion to Northleaf’s global private equity program, gaining access to mid-market private company value creation through three complementary strategies: directs, secondaries and integrated global solutions. The private equity program currently serves more than 120 institutional and family office investors across North America and the UK/EMEA. With recent private equity, private credit and infrastructure fundraising activity, Northleaf’s total capital commitments raised to date exceed US$20 billion.

About Northleaf Capital Partners

Northleaf Capital Partners is a global private markets investment firm with more than US$20 billion in private equity, private credit and infrastructure commitments raised to date from public, corporate and multi-employer pension plans, endowments, foundations, financial institutions and family offices. Northleaf’s team of 200 professionals, located in Toronto, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Menlo Park, Montreal and New York, is focused exclusively on sourcing, evaluating and managing private markets investments globally. Its portfolio includes more than 500 active investments in more than 40 countries, with a focus on mid-market companies and assets. For more information on Northleaf, please visit www.northleafcapital.com.

Disclaimer: This document is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a general solicitation, offer or invitation in any Northleaf-managed funds in the United States or in any other jurisdiction and has not been prepared in connection with any such offer. In addition, the information contained in this document may not be relied on in any manner as legal, tax or investment advice. The views expressed herein do not constitute investment or any other advice and are subject to change.

This document has not been approved by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or by any regulatory or supervisory authority of any state or other jurisdiction, nor has any such authority or commission passed on the adequacy of this document. Any representation to the contrary is unlawful.

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