Blackstone GP Stakes has acquired a minority interest in mid-market private equity firm Nautic Partners.
Nautic specializes in healthcare, industrial and services investments. It generally makes equity investments of $50m to $400m. The firm recently closed its tenth private equity fund on a hard cap of $3bn. It closed Nautic Partners IX in 2019 on $1.5bn.
Mustafa M. Siddiqui, head of Blackstone GP Stakes, said, “We have been impressed with the Nautic team’s combination of deep sector expertise and dedication to collaborating with strong management teams.
“This approach has allowed them to deliver outstanding investment results over a long period of time and build an enviable reputation among their peers. The firm is well-positioned for the future and we are delighted to be their partners on this journey.”
Ward Young, managing director at Blackstone, added, “Nautic’s strong leadership team, track record, and differentiated investment playbook align with our focus on investing in best-in-class private equity firms. We look forward to leveraging Blackstone’s extensive resources to help Nautic continue to grow and evolve while benefiting all of its stakeholders.”
In a joint statement, Nautic managing directors Scott Hilinski, Chris Crosby, Chris Corey, and Chris Pierce said, “We are excited about the opportunity ahead of us and believe that this relationship will be a valuable resource as we at Nautic continue to work on behalf of all of our constituents to drive investment performance.
“Blackstone is a highly regarded leader in the private equity market, and brings a deep platform of resources and operational tools that we will look to draw upon as we continue to invest in our firm and execute on our playbook of driving value creation in partnership with our portfolio company management teams.”
Blackstone GP Stakes specializes in value-added, long-term investments in the management companies of leading private equity firms.
It held a $5.6bn final close for its second fund in November.
Recent investments from Blackstone GP Stakes include buying into private equity houses Great Hill Partners and GTCR.
Blackstone was reportedly eyeing up to $10bn last month for one of the largest growth capital funds ever raised.
The move, which was reported by Bloomberg, came just a few months after the firm pulled in $4.5bn to close its debut fund in the strategy – the largest first-time growth equity private fundraise in history.
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