Pritzker Private Capital, the Chicago-based private equity firm founded by heirs to the Pritzker family fortune, is targeting $3bn for its fourth buyout fund, Pritzker Private Capital IV, according to a report by Buyouts Insider.
The new fund is expected to close in Q4 2024, according to documents from the Plymouth County Retirement Association.
The firm’s previous fund, PPC III, closed in 2021 at $2.7bn, marking it as one of the market’s largest family investment vehicles at the time and a significant increase from Pritzker’s second fund, which raised $1.8bn in 2018.
PPC III was earning a 1.4x gross multiple and an 18.8 percent gross IRR as of December 2023, while PPC II was generating a 2x gross multiple and a 21.5 percent gross IRR, according to the Plymouth County documents.
Established in 2002 by Tony Pritzker and his brother JB Pritzker, members of the billionaire family behind Hyatt Hotels, the firm initially operated as a family wealth manager and now invests both family and third-party institutional capital in mid-market buyouts. Tony Pritzker currently serves as chairman and CEO, while JB Pritzker left the firm to become the governor of Illinois in 2019.
Pritzker Private Capital emphasises flexible, long-duration investing, a strategy known as family direct investing, setting it apart from the traditional private equity model that typically targets an exit within three to five years.
The firm primarily makes control investments in North American businesses in the manufactured products and services sectors, with EBITDA of more than $15m and enterprise values ranging from $200m to $1.5bn or greater. Pritzker’s preferred deal types include family or founder liquidity events, management buyouts, corporate carveouts and industry consolidations. The firm writes equity checks of $100m to $400m per deal, with the capacity to deploy up to $750m.
Pritzker’s portfolio currently includes 17 investments, the most recent being HeartLand, a commercial landscaping services provider acquired from Sterling Investment Partners. Last October, Pritzker also invested in insurance broker and employee benefits provider Lawley and acquired multinational food products company Sugar Foods Corp.
