Mason Wells Buyout Fund III Closing

Mason Wells held its third and final closing on Mason Wells Buyout Fund III. The final closing brings the total commitments to $525 million, substantially exceeding the initial target of $400 million.

The fundraising process commenced in November of 2009. A total of 31 domestic and foreign institutional investors and 60 individuals provided the commitments to the Fund.

Buyout Fund III will continue to pursue a strategy similar to prior Mason Wells Buyout funds by investing in lower middle-market Specialty Packaging, Engineered Products, and Business Service companies that have operations located in the Midwest.

Targeted companies will have solid, profitable operating histories and opportunities to increase shareholder value through operational improvement and profitable growth initiatives. Platform companies will generally be either family-owned or divisions of larger companies at the time of acquisition by Mason Wells.

Mason Wells will continue to focus on companies that meet preferred investment criteria of revenue between $25 and $300 million, EBITDA of $5 to $30 million, and a transaction value of between $25 and $200 million.

Mason Wells anticipates making between 10 and 12 new platform investments with Buyout Fund III over the next four to five years. At the time of the closing, Mason Wells was actively pursuing a number of potential investments for the Fund.