AMBIT PARTNERS CONCLUDES FIRST CLOSE FOR FUND I
27 September 2021
Cape Town - Ambit Partners today announced the first close of its inaugural fund, Ambit Partners Fund I LP (“Fund I”), a global fund of Search Funds.
With offices in Canada and South Africa, Ambit Partners’ mission is to enable Search Funds globally, investing in exceptional entrepreneurs to find, buy and build enduring businesses around the world.
This initial close builds off of the early Search Fund investment activity of co-founders Rob LeBlanc, Niel Wyma and Andrew Locke, who, in 2020, combined existing personally-acquired Search Fund assets with $2m of friends & family capital to construct a pilot portfolio of 24 Searchers across 16 countries, kickstarting what evolved into Fund I’s strategy.
Domiciled in Canada, Fund I will invest in ~60 Search Funds (including the initial 24 noted above, one of which already concluded an acquisition), with the aim of building a globally diversified portfolio of ~30 Searcher-acquired and operated businesses across North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa, emphasizing opportunities with Searchers entering new or emerging Search Fund markets.
Ambit Partners co-founder and Managing Partner, Rob LeBlanc, said: “Search Funds have done well historically, outperforming traditional Venture Capital and Private Equity in aggregate by almost 2x. And yet, the asset class is still relatively small, hard to access at scale, and only just starting to build more mainstream momentum. This is especially true in markets outside of North America and Western Europe, where the model is less established. Our aim with Fund I is to help accelerate the spread of Search Funds, while building a balanced global portfolio that generates compelling risk-adjusted returns.”
Ambit Partners co-founder and Partner, Niel Wyma, added: “Our talent-led investment philosophy enables us to invest in the best possible Searchers in any market we find compelling. We’re particularly excited about backing pioneering Searchers in new markets, because we believe they can produce outsized impact and returns, with the full benefit of the lessons learned, and playbooks created, in traditional markets over the past three decades.”
“The combination of our global experience, network - and now, investor base - positions us uniquely to identify, invest in, and support great Searchers all over the world” added fellow co-founder and Partner, Andrew Locke. “Indeed, with investors from six continents, our investor group and support network is as global as the portfolio we’re building.”
Fund I’s investor group brings together experienced Search Fund investors, mainly from North America and Europe, seeking greater diversification and international exposure in the asset class; and sophisticated executives, entrepreneurs and family offices, often from Emerging Markets, brand new to Search Funds, but aiming to gain access to this high-growth, uncorrelated, USD-denominated opportunity.
Rob LeBlanc concluded: “We are thrilled by the early traction our fundraising effort has gained in such a quick time. Reaching our first close in under nine months would be exciting in any context - but is especially so in the current climate, where face-to-face meetings with investors are rare. We remain grateful for the interest investors have shown in our strategy, humbled by their confidence in us, and excited by the portfolio of Searchers we’re building. We look forward to closing out the raise, and making Fund I a success for all.”
Ambit Partners Fund I is targeting a maximum fund size of $40m. A subsequent close is scheduled for Q4-2021.
Contact: info@ambit.partners