Gael Partners LLC, a private capital asset manager, announced the close of its debut fund, the Central Valley Fund LP. The Central Valley Fund totals $80 million in committed capital with $100 million expected by early first quarter 2006.
Investors in the fund include CalPERS, Wells Fargo, Mid-State Bank and Trust, Bank of the Sierra, Citizens Business Bank, United Security Bank and Central Valley Community Bank. Notable individual investors include F. Warren Hellman, Chairman of Hellman and Friedman LLC. The fund has offices in Davis, CA and Fresno, CA and has been established to make later stage capital investments in basic industry companies located in the Greater California Central Valley which spans from Redding to Bakersfield and includes Chico, Sacramento, Stockton, Modesto and Fresno. The fund is licensed by the Small Business Administration as a Small Business Investment Company (SBIC).
Gael Partners LLC is headed by the former vice chair of Bank One Capital Markets, Dan Jessee, who brings more than 20 years of investing experience to the fund and has managed funds exceeding over $1 billion in aggregate capital.
“We feel this is an ideal time to create a middle market fund of this type,” Jessee said. “The Central Valley is experiencing robust growth and small to middle market companies cannot keep pace without access to professional capital.
Additional management team members include Jose Blanco, the former CIO for AIG in Europe and Turlock native Brad Triebsch, a former aide to Congressman Tony Coelho and most recently an investment banker covering the Central Valley.
Triebsch predicts the fund will fill some of the “credit gaps” that have historically existed in the Central Valley. The manufacturing, service and distribution sectors have long been overlooked in the Valley, he said. Basic industry businesses make up the backbone of what is truly California’s heartland.”
Sacramento native Bill Henderson, who previously headed up commercial banking for Wells Fargo in the Central Valley, serves as a Special Advisor to the fund and as a member of its Investment Committee. Stockton native Todd Stemler heads up the fund’s Fresno office and leads the firms South Valley efforts.
The Fund is seeking investments in small to mid-sized Central Valley companies with revenues between $5 million and $50 million. The fund is focused on businesses experiencing later stage growth, strategic acquisitions, ownership transitions and recapitalizations in the manufacturing, service and distribution sectors. The Funds target investment size is $2 million – $5 million. Larger investments can be arranged through syndication.