Bloomberg yesterday reported that Leonard Green & Partners has “raised about $4 billion for its sixth fund.” It’s accurate, but also incomplete.
My understanding is that the Los Angeles-based firm actually is at its $5 billion target, if you include both closed and hard-circled commitments. It’s just that some investors in the latter boat can’t formally close until calendar 2012, due to allocation issues.
Leonard Green no longer is marketing the fund to new investors, but almost certainly will surpass $5 billion based on prior marketing efforts with investors who have not yet made final decisions.
Expect a final close sometime in Q1. The firm has enough dry powder in its $5.3 billion fifth fund (2007) to complete at least one more transaction. Current portfolio companies include BJ’s Wholesale, J. Crew and Whole Foods Markets (WFMI).
No comment from the folks at Leonard Green, natch.
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