Nov 28, 2007
High Road Capital Partners adds operating partner
High Road Capital Partners, a leveraged buyout firm that buys and builds niche market leaders at the smaller end of the middle market, has added William B.R. Hobbs as a partner. Hobbs will primarily work with the management teams of High Road’s portfolio companies to achieve operational excellence, acquire and integrate add-on acquisitions, and strategically position the companies for maximum value creation.
Hobbs has extensive experience working closely with private equity firms, having served as CEO, chairman, and director of numerous portfolio companies in diverse industries including construction equipment, steel processing, industrial distribution, plastic and metal manufacturing, and catalog and Internet retailing. He has worked in companies ranging in size from $25 million to $1 billion in revenue, with responsibility for operations in over 20 countries.
“Bill’s broad and deep operational expertise will provide High Road Capital Partners’ portfolio companies with the skills and guidance necessary to help maximize their performance and therefore their ultimate returns,” said Robert Fitzsimmons, Managing Partner. “Bill has a rare skill set and we are fortunate to have him on board as we begin investing our first fund.”
High Road seeks to acquire well-run companies with revenues of $10 million to $100 million and EBITDA of $2 million to $10 million. The firm believes companies in this size range present the best opportunity for a private equity firm to add value consistently through a combination of add-on acquisitions and organic growth initiatives. High Road is currently investing from its first fund and has over $100 million of committed capital under management.
In spite of recent media focus on megafunds and megadeals, smaller-middle-market buyout funds historically have generated higher returns than larger buyout funds. According to Thomson Financial’s US Private Equity Performance Index, small buyout funds were the top performers for the 20 years through September 30, 2006, with an annual IRR of 25.2%. There are over 130,000 US companies with revenues between $10 million and $100 million, and it is estimated that over 3,000 transactions a year are completed by companies in that size range.
Hobbs joins Fitzsimmons, Partners Bill Connell and Jeff Goodrich, and Director of Business Development Rich Prestegaard at High Road Capital Partners. The firm is also presently interviewing prospective associates.
For additional information about High Road, please contact Bob Fitzsimmons at (212) 786-7612 or rfitzsimmons@highroadcap.com and visit www.highroadcap.com.
Notice: All content on this website is current only as of the date indicated, and may be superseded by subsequent market events or for other reasons. Users are responsible for setting the cache settings on their browser to ensure they are receiving the most recent data. All press releases for all portfolio investments from at least the past 12 months are presented below. Any performance or return information in the press releases is not indicative of the returns to any investors and past performance is not indicative of future results.