Kian Capital Partners, a lower-middle-market focused private investment firm, closed the firm’s latest fund, Kian Growth Partners III, L.P. (“KGP III” or “the Fund”), which was oversubscribed at $400 million.
Kian’s existing limited partners (“LPs”) increased their support of the Fund and were joined by a number of new, marquee lower-middle-market investors. KGP III’s LP base includes a diverse group of investors, including university endowments, fund of funds, financial institutions, family offices, and, notably, several founders of former Kian investments. Investor demand was well above the Fund’s hard cap, stimulated by the strong performance of prior funds and highlighting the significant support for the firm’s investment strategy.
“We are grateful for the continued confidence and loyalty of our blue-chip LP base, and as part of our strategy, we are pleased to welcome new and recognizable LPs to our third fund,” said Rick Cravey, Co-Founder and Partner at Kian. “KGP III will strengthen our commitment to the lower middle market, and allow us to continue helping businesses professionalize and scale within our four core sectors — consumer, services, value added distribution and specialty manufacturing. As in prior funds, we will continue to deploy flexible and creative capital solutions that align with our philosophy of creating win-win relationships and shareholder value by employing our proven Blueprint for Enduring Value™.”
Founded in 2013, Kian has been a trusted partner to management teams by providing the financial resources and additional operational horsepower to scale lower-middle-market businesses, realize growth aspirations and deliver long-term investment returns through genuine partnership. The firm has been recognized on Inc.’s Founder-Friendly Investors list for three consecutive years, a testament to Kian’s collaborative approach and experience providing transformational capital solutions, focused buy-and-build strategies and strategic guidance to founder/owner-operated businesses.
The close of KGP III comes at a time of significant momentum for Kian. The firm recently announced the successful exit of its investment in Motor City Industrial, which produced an outstanding return for its LPs. Additionally, over the last 18 months, Kian has invested in four platforms, completed eleven add-on acquisitions, exited five investments and brought on four new team members. David Duke, Partner, Business Development, commented, "With the close of our third fund, our growing team is well positioned to continue to create positive outcomes for business owners and LPs. The quality of our active deal pipeline remains strong, and we view the recent market dislocation as an opportunity given our flexible investment mandate.”
“In alignment with our investment approach, Rick and I founded Kian on the premise of building a firm with enduring value and capable of making an impact for decades to come,” added Kevin McCarthy, Co-Founder and Partner at Kian. “We have ambitious plans for the future, and while all of our achievements thus far make us proud, we are confident that the best is yet to come.”
Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, P.A. acted as Kian’s legal advisor. Winston & Strawn acted as Kian’s regulatory counsel.