Published by Todd Bush on December 14, 2023
Oversubscribed Third Private Equity Fund Closed at $2.8 Billion Hard Cap, Alongside Dedicated LP Co-Investment Vehicles
Fund Focuses on Buyout and Growth Investments in Industrial Decarbonization Sector
HOUSTON and BOSTON and DUBLIN, Dec. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ara Partners ("Ara" or the "Firm"), a leading private equity and infrastructure investment firm specializing in industrial decarbonization, today announced that it has closed over $3 billion of new capital commitments. The Firm has concluded a successful fundraising for Ara Fund III ("Fund III" or the "Fund"), closing on $2.8 billion of limited partner commitments, alongside dedicated limited partner co-investment vehicles.
The Fund was significantly oversubscribed at an increased hard cap, exceeding its $2 billion initial target, and received the support of Ara's existing investor base and a diverse set of new institutional investors comprised of pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, and foundations from North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region.
Fund III will continue Ara's strategy of investing in the decarbonization of the industrial economy, the greatest source of carbon emissions globally. Leveraging significant technical and operations expertise, the Fund will pursue both buyout and growth investments in industrial companies primarily headquartered in the United States, Canada and Europe that have the potential to achieve reductions in carbon emissions across sectors, including industrial and manufacturing, chemicals and materials, energy efficiency and green fuels, and food and agriculture. Ara's predecessor fund, Ara Fund II, closed in September 2021 at approximately $1.1 billion, above its $650 million target. Ara has total assets under management of approximately $5.6 billion.
"We are grateful for the extraordinary interest in Fund III demonstrated by Ara's increasingly global, blue-chip investor base," said Charles Cherington, Managing Partner of Ara. "The strong support from new and existing investors, is a testament to their confidence in our talented team, our investment strategy, and the compelling opportunities in the industrial decarbonization sector. We look forward to collaborating with our world-class portfolio company management teams to generate strong returns for our investors in the coming years."
Fund III has already completed four investments: Vacuumschmelze, a leading global producer of advanced magnetic materials and the largest producer of rare earth permanent magnets in the Western Hemisphere; Genera, a sustainable pulp and packaging producer; CFP Energy, which provides market-facing solutions in environmental and green energy products to industrial customers across Europe; and CycleØ, a fully integrated developer of distributed biomethane facilities.
"The growing, global presence of Ara's platform and portfolio directly reflects the industrial economy's continued demand for the technological innovation and infrastructure needed to decarbonize," said Troy Thacker, Managing Partner of Ara. "The support we have received for Fund III will enable the Ara team to continue investing in high-growth companies globally that are positioned to build value while achieving positive environmental impacts."
Mr. Cherington and Mr. Thacker founded Ara in 2017. Ara's experienced investment team also includes Partners Chris Picotte, Cory Steffek, and Tuan Tran, as well as Teresa O'Flynn and Churchill George Yong, Co-Heads of the Firm's infrastructure strategy. The investment team operates from offices in Houston, Boston, and Dublin, and is supported by a deep bench of operating professionals with experience across industries.
Rede Partners acted as placement agent, and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP served as legal counsel in the formation of Fund III.
Ara Partners is a private equity and infrastructure firm focused on industrial decarbonization investments. Ara Partners invests in the industrial and manufacturing, chemicals and materials, energy efficiency and green fuels, infrastructure, and food and agriculture sectors, seeking to create companies with significant decarbonization impact. It operates from offices in Houston, Boston and Dublin, Ireland. As of September 30, 2023, Ara Partners had approximately $5.6 billion of assets under management. For more information about Ara Partners, please visit www.arapartners.com.
>> RELATED: Ara Partners Acquires a Majority Interest in Wattstor
SOURCE Ara Partners
Follow the money flow of climate, technology, and energy investments to uncover new opportunities and jobs.
Inside This Issue 🌍 COP29 Countries Endorse Global Carbon Market Framework 💧 Hydrogen Produced at Scale Using Biological Process Combining Carbon Capture 🎯 Starmer: New UK Target for 81% Emissions...
Inside This Issue 🌍 CARB Raises Carbon Intensity Reduction Targets of LCFS to 30% in 2030 and 90% by 2045 🌪️ COP29: the UAE, Host of COP28, is First to Submit Its New National Climate Plan, but Fa...
Inside This Issue 🌍 Climeworks Launches Mammoth: The World's Largest Direct Air Capture Plant in Iceland 🌱 Capsol And Sumitomo To Capture CO2 From A Swedish Bio-CHP Plant With New Demo ⚡ MAX Power...
Zefiro Methane Corp. Chief Commercial Officer to Serve as Featured Speaker at United Nations COP29
In addition to attending the conference with the Company’s Founder and CEO, Zefiro CCO Tina Reine will be featured as a panelist on a UN COP29 Climate Action Innovation Zone discussion regarding th...
COP29 Countries Endorse Global Carbon Market Framework
BAKU, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Countries at the two-week COP29 climate summit gave the go-ahead on Monday to carbon credit quality standards, which are critical to launching a U.N.-backed global carbon m...
Starmer: New UK Target for 81% Emissions Cut by 2035
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced fresh climate change targets at a global summit, saying he wants the UK to lead on cutting emissions. The UK will now aim for an 81% cut in its emissi...
Hydrogen Produced at Scale Using Biological Process Combining Carbon Capture
In a significant development for the renewable energy sector, the Biorenewables Development Centre (BDC) at the University of York has broken new ground by successfully producing hydrogen at scale ...
Follow the money flow of climate, technology, and energy investments to uncover new opportunities and jobs.