Angelo Gordon closes on $252m

Alternative investment group Angelo, Gordon & Co. is in the market for its third buyout fund, AG Private Equity Partners III, LP. The New York-based firm has accumulated $252 million of a targeted $300 million, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The new fund represents a fairly quick turnaround from Angelo Gordon’s previous vehicle, a 2003-vintage fund that raised $150 million.

The firm’s private equity arm has been active recently. The group agreed to acquire Bally’s Crunch franchise, an operator of upscale gyms, and in September the firm backed the founding of Amity Entertainment, a holding company used to acquire the film libraries and assets of Tadpole Entertainment. Other investments include buyouts of White Hen Pantry and an investment in Dealer Services Corp., a specialty finance business serving independent auto dealers.

Angelo Gordon seems to specialise in situations in need of work. According to the firm’s Web site, the group looks for hurried sellers, distressed companies, complex structural situations, and other circumstances.

The typical transaction size can range as low as $15 million in enterprise value to as high as $200 million, with equity cheques ranging from $10 million to $50 million in size.

Angelo Gordon first established itself in the fields of distressed securities, merger arbitrage and convertible arbitrage. As the group developed it added other disciplines. In addition to private equity, the firm invests in real estate, leveraged loans, credit arbitrage and power/energy.

David Roberts launched the group’s private equity and special situations practice in 1993. In 1999, the firm recruited Pegasus Investors veteran Josh Brain to co-manage the group, and two years later Joel Schwartz joined the firm after having served as a partner at Patricof & Co. Brent Leffel, Mei Hu and Min Kim round out the firm’s private equity team.