Align Collaborate Closes Oversubscribed Fund I at $233 Million

Team Aims to be Independent Sponsors’ First Call for Equity Capital

DALLAS & CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Align Capital Partners (“Align” or “ACP”) is pleased to announce the closing of its inaugural independent sponsor focused investment fund, Align Collaborate Fund I, LP (“Collaborate I” and, together with ACP, the “Firm” and, such strategy, “Align Collaborate”). The strategy, which launched in late 2023, provides equity capital to the industry’s growing number of deal-by-deal investors. Collaborate I had its final close on March 26 at $233 million, well above its $150 million target.

To date, Align Collaborate has anchored the equity syndicate for two leading sponsors’ new platform investments and the team has expanded to five dedicated investment professionals, led by Partners Grant Kornman and Michael Kornman. Align Collaborate targets $10–$30 million equity investments per transaction in support of platform companies with between $2–$15 million of EBITDA.

Align Collaborate is designed to complement ACP’s Private Equity fund strategy and the Firm’s collective commitment to helping lower-middle market companies achieve their ambitious growth targets. Align believes the Firm’s two investment strategies enable it to take advantage of the vast opportunity at this end of the market. Since its founding in 2016, the Firm has raised approximately $1.8 billion in committed capital and closed 122 total acquisitions.

“We are constantly looking for ways to innovate, yet stay true to our lower-middle market investing roots, and we believe Align Collaborate is a great addition to the Firm,” said Align Co-Founder and Managing Partner Rob Langley. “We are grateful for our investors’ support, and for the thought leadership and creativity from Grant, Michael and the entire Align Collaborate team,” added Align Co-Founder and Managing Partner Chris Jones.

“We are excited to have officially closed on our first fund exclusively dedicated to supporting sponsors that raise capital deal-by-deal. We believe our approach to this rapidly growing segment of private equity is truly distinctive,” said Michael Kornman. “We created the equity solution that we ourselves sought, but could not find as independent sponsors, and the market response in our inaugural year has been humbling,” said Grant Kornman. As an early indication of the team’s impact, Align Collaborate was recently named Capital Provider of the Year and received the Innovation in Deal Structuring award by a panel of industry experts and prior winners at iGlobal’s Independent Sponsor Summit.¹

Capstone Partners served as the exclusive placement agent for Collaborate I and Kirkland & Ellis LLP provided legal counsel.

About Align Collaborate

Align Collaborate is an equity investor that exclusively invests in independent sponsor-led transactions, or alongside lower-middle market sponsors closing a transaction pre-fund or while in between funds. The team’s strategy is purpose-built to support the unique needs of all investors that capitalize their investments on a deal-by-deal basis by moving quickly and providing value beyond capital. Align Collaborate is an affiliate of ACP. ACP is a lower-middle market private equity firm, and, together with Align Collaborate, manages $1.8 billion in committed capital with investment teams in Cleveland and Dallas. For more information, visit aligncollaborate.com.

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The awards and designations presented herein are the opinion of the respective parties conferring the award or designation and not of Align. No such person conferring any of the listed award(s) or designation(s) is affiliated with Align or is an investor in Align-sponsored vehicles. No compensation was paid or is payable for the awards or designations described herein. There can be no assurance that other providers or surveys would reach the same conclusions as the foregoing.