Edison Partners closes $450M fund, its largest ever

Edison Partners, a growth equity firm based in Princeton, announced April 4 the closing of its 10th fund—the largest in the firm’s 36-year history.

Edison Partners X, oversubscribed at $450 million, is the firm’s third consecutive fund dedicated to growth equity since 2015. Addressing the gap in the $10 million to $30 million emerging market in geographies outside of Silicon Valley, the firm said Fund X includes seven investments, five of which are from underserved geographies: Kaiyo (New York), MacroFab (Houston), Prepaid Technologies (Birmingham), Recycle Track Systems (New York), Slingshot Aerospace (Austin), Solutions by Text (Dallas) and Spiffy (Charlotte, N.C.).

“Fund X continues Edison Partners’ successful track record, some would call an ‘old-school,’ disciplined approach to investing in and growing capital-efficient, high-growth businesses in fintech, health care IT, and enterprise SaaS outside Silicon Valley,” Edison Partners Managing Partner Chris Sugden said in a statement.

Alpay Koralturk, founder and CEO of Kaiyo, said the company was “excited” to partner with the firm, adding, “As fierce operators ourselves, it’s particularly energizing to work alongside an organization that brings on-the-ground experience and an operational network. Their Edison Edge program will allow us to accelerate our current growth trajectory and unlock new opportunities to realize our mission of making great furniture accessible to everyone and better for the planet.”

The firm’s Edison Edge program offers operating expertise and best practices at no cost to its portfolio companies. It includes five proprietary centers of excellence, executive education programs, board director support with the Edison Director Network, and corporate development and exit management services. According to the company’s announcement, more than 90% of its portfolio companies are engaged with the platform, averaging 70% to 80% annual revenue growth.

Since its founding in 1986, Edison Partners has invested in more than 240 companies and completed 180 total exits. Its active portfolio consists of 53 companies, and the firm now has more than $1.6 billion in assets under management as of Dec. 31, 2021, with an aggregated market value exceeding $10 billion.

Edison Partners is led by 17 professionals, more than two-thirds of whom are women and minorities. The firm committed $30 million to $50 million of Fund X investments to include the most underserved tech CEO populations: women and minorities.