Funds: Wind Point Fund IV Wraps on $450M –

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – Wind Point Partners in late June held a $405 million final close on Wind Point Partners IV, said James Forrest, a managing director at the firm. The $350 million-targeted vehicle was launched at the end of July 1999, he added. The firm also closed a $2.5 million side vehicle at the end of June.

The vehicle will back companies in the business-to-business services, original-equipment-manufacturer (OEM) industrial products, branded consumer products, telecommunications and information technology sectors. “We do not specialize in one area; we’re generalists,” Forrest added.

Wind Point invests in companies at all stages of their development from seed-stage to late-stage financings and even engages in some buyout plays. “We do all this with a growth flair we want to generate wealth,” Forrest said. He noted Wind Point’s IT and telecom deals generally are early-stage, while its manufacturing and services deals are usually later-stage investments.

The vehicle will back approximately 15 to 20 companies, with a typical deal size of $20 million to $25 million, spread over several rounds of financing. Forrest said it was not possible to break down capital allocations among the various sectors Wind Point invests in, because the firm just does the best deals it can find in any of the sectors in which it invests.

The fund will do deals nationwide, but Forrest said Wind Point prefers its portfolio companies to be within two to three hours of its Chicago and Southfield, Mich. offices. “We work real closely with our portfolio companies, and if they are too far away it is very hard to work with them as much as we want to do,” he explained. Forrest declined to say how much of the fund’s capital Wind Point had put up, though he described it as a substantial amount. He also declined to reveal the fund’s management fee or carried interest structure. He said they were both at industry standard levels.

Limited partners in the new fund include State of Michigan Retirement Systems, State of Wisconsin Investment Board, Chrysler Corp., Northwestern Mutual Life, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., Aetna Life Insurance Co. and the Lutheran Brotherhood.

LPs in the side fund are 25 individual executives, which the firm calls executive advisor partners. The executive advisor partners assist Wind Point with deal flow, due diligence, portfolio company development and management development, Forrest said.

The fund has already done five deals for a total of $175 million, he added. The firm’s previous fund, the $215 million Wind Point Partners III closed in 1997 and is fully committed to 15 companies. The firm recently hired a new vice president, Sarah Kneisel, bringing Wind Point’s number of investment professionals to 17.

Boston Millennia Fund Exceeds $400M Mark