Ex-Cerberus Team Beats $400M On Maiden Fund

Tenex Capital Management, a start-up firm that invests in underperforming mid-market companies, has has wrapped up its debut fund, Tenex Capital Partners LP, at $452 million. Its target was $400 million.

Based in New York, Tenex Capital was founded in 2009 by several former executives at hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management. Its principals include Michael Green, CEO and managing director, who had been a managing director at Cerberus from 2004 to 2009; Varun Bedi, managing director and principal, who had been a senior vice president at Cerberus from 2004 to 2009; J.P. Bretl, managing director and principal, who had been a senior operations leader at Cerberus; and Joe Cottone, managing director and principal, who had served from 2005 to 2009 as vice president of strategy, supply chain, IT and integration at a Cerberus portfolio company.

The company takes control interests in mid-sized companies that, according to its Web site, are “experiencing significant change in their markets, operations, or capital structure.” Industries where the firm has expertise include transportation, industrials, manufacturing, telecom, health services and business services. Along with its senior management team, the firm lists on its Web site a four-person operations team and a five-person investment team.

Atlantic-Pacific Capital acted as placement agent on the fund, raising money from institutional investors in both the United States and Europe.