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Palladium Equity Partners Completes Final Closing on $520 Million Hispanic Market Focused Fund
NEW YORK, NY, April 17, 2006- - Palladium Equity Partners, LLC has raised a $520 million private equity fund, believed to be the largest such fund to date, focused on investing in companies expected to benefit from the explosive growth of the U.S. Hispanic population, as announced today by Marcos A. Rodriguez, Managing Member.
The new fund, called Palladium Equity Partners III, L.P. (“Fund III”), has a blue chip investor base including BBVA, one of Spain’s largest financial institutions, and prominent pension funds such as CalPERS, CalSTRS, New York City, New York State and GE Pension Trust.
“The closing of this fund is an important milestone not only for our firm but also for the national Latino business community,” said Mr. Rodriguez.
In addition to the distinctive positioning of Fund III, three of its four partners are Hispanic and have significant private equity and financial markets experience, including Mr. Rodriguez, David Perez, and Alex Ventosa. The fourth partner, Peter A. Joseph, is also a veteran private equity professional and led Fund III’s first investment: Texas-based Taco Bueno, a premium, quick service restaurant chain offering quality Mexican cuisine.
“We believe that the combination of our investment experience and cultural affinity clearly provides us an important competitive edge,” says Mr. Rodriguez, who is also the Chairman of the Robert Toigo Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing scholarships to exceptional minority students interested in careers in finance, and a member of the New America Alliance, an organization dedicated to expanding the forms of capital most crucial for economic advancement in the Latino community. “We know this market well.”
While Palladium will also pursue investment opportunities in the broader U.S. economy, the firm believes the new fund is well-positioned to capitalize upon the demographic trends inherent in the U.S. Hispanic market which, they believe, exhibits favorable characteristics for private equity investing, including a young, fast-growing population, which fuels growth in consumption and business formation.
According to Mr. Rodriguez, “With a few notable exceptions in media, the U.S. Hispanic market has not received the focused attention of Wall Street or the established U.S. private equity community to date. We aim to change that view by making investments that will attest to the strong growth and purchasing power of the U.S. Hispanic community, expected to reach $1 trillion by 2010, which we believe represents a significant economic shift, providing opportunities for value creation. As has been demonstrated in markets around the world, private equity can play a pivotal economic role. Private equity is poised to become an important part of the dynamic and growing U.S. Hispanic community as well, providing capital for growth and fueling the engine of value creation.”
Palladium Equity Partners, LLC, based in New York, is a private equity firm focusing investments in middle market companies in sectors including business services, financial services, consumer/retail, food/restaurants, healthcare, manufacturing, and media. Palladium has a particular focus on companies that are well-positioned to capitalize on the fast-growing U.S. Hispanic market. The principals have invested over $1 billion of equity in 29 portfolio companies over the last two decades. Formed in 1997, Palladium currently has committed equity capital in excess of $750 million.
The foregoing is not an offer of securities in any Palladium Equity Partners fund.
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David Lilly
Laura Walters
Kekst and Company
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