Falfurrias Management Partners raised $1.35 billion in its latest fund, topping the $850 million it collected in 2021, according to a company release.
The increase reflects strong investor interest in the Charlotte-based private equity group formed by Marc Oken, Hugh McColl Jr. and Ed McMahan.
Falfurrias is investing $1.75 billion in active funds and has raised approximately $3.6 billion in capital since its inception, including its Falfurrias Growth Partners fund that invests in software and business services companies.
Charlotte’s largest private equity firm is Ridgemont Equity Partners, which spun out of Bank of America in 2010 when regulations changed concerning bank ownership of PE groups. It raised $2.35 billion in its last fund in October 2022.
Falfurrias said it had a record year in 2024, based on its deployments of capital and exits from investments. The firm invested $557 million in nine new companies, plus two add-on investments. Those investments included clinical trial solution Jumo Health, cyber-security company MOXFIVE, leading snack manufacturer Snak King, and digital services agency Oddball.
Its sales included ETech to Graham Partners; Combined Caterers to CCMP Growth; and Sauer Brands to Advent International. The latter sale, which was for a reported $1.5 billion according to Bloomberg, included Sauer’s Duke’s Mayo brand.
The firm track record ranked among the top five small-cap buyout firms worldwide, HEC Paris-Dow Jones said in a 2023 report.
“We had a ton of demand. We were well oversubscribed from our goal,” Falfurrias Managing Partner Ed McMahan told Bloomberg. “That aligns mostly with our track record and the fact that we are continuing with the exact same strategy with similar check sizes.”
Existing investors made most of the commitments, he said.
Company officials credit the success to its proprietary “Industry First” methodology that focuses dealmaking on markets benefiting from regulatory, demographic, and secular trends. Falfurrias typically invests $50 million to $100 million.
The fund has nearly 50 employees, including former top Bank of America executives McColl, Oken, Joe Price and Chet Walker. McColl’s grandson, Hugh McColl IV, is a vice president.
The name, Falfurrias, refers to a south Texas town near where McColl has hunted for quail over the years.
