JH Partners raises $350m fund

JH Partners has closed on its second institutional fund, having raised $350 million. The fund is the second raised by the firm.

The nation’s five largest endowments – Harvard University, MIT, Princeton University, Stanford University and Yale University – have all invested in the second fund. The five schools also participated in the firm’s first fund but committed larger amounts this time around.

Jeff Hansen, a principal with JH Partners, said the firm’s first fund has been almost fully invested, and the firm has not yet made any investments from the new fund. The firm closed on the first fund’s last investment earlier this month when it made a minority investment in Australian skincare company Jurlique.

“We’re pretty close to done with the first fund,” Hansen said. “We’ve got some reserved for follow-on investments, but that’s about it.”

JH Partners specializes in lower middle market companies with revenues of $10 million to $200 million. Since 1986 the firm’s principals have made more than 40 investments representing approximately $350 million of invested capital. Over the past several years the firm has also announced several liquidity events, which returned approximately $566 million on invested capital of $80 million.

In the past, the firm has invested in such sectors as personal care, food and beverage, home furnishings and direct marketing.