Ex-Wayzata partner John McEvoy gears up to raise debut fund

Wayzata Investment Partners has been contemplating its future and will likely wind down operations and not raise a new fund, sources told Buyouts last year. As is often the case in wind-down situations, executives have been leaving Wayzata to start their own shops.

John McEvoy, an ex-partner at Wayzata, in August formed Neponset Bay Capital as managing partner. He is working with Partner James Beltz, who worked at Wayzata from 2005 to 2012 as an investment analyst, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Quincy McDougal joined the firm in December as an investment analyst, his LinkedIn profile shows.

The firm is gearing up with its debut fund, a person with knowledge of the firm said. The target on the new fund is not clear.

Neponset Bay’s first fund will target investments in distressed assets across aviation, forest products and shipping, the website says. Not much information is available on the website, and McEvoy did not respond to a request for comment.

Minnesota-based Wayzata spun out from Cargill Inc in 2004. It is led by Patrick Halloran, who also controls MAP Holdings LLC, Wayzata’s majority owner. As of Sept. 30, 2017, the firm managed about $2.7 billion in assets, according to its Form ADV.

Wayzata’s most recent fund, Wayzata Opportunities Fund III, closed on $2.7 billion in 2013, beating its $2.5 billion target. That was down from the firm’s second fund, which closed on $3.4 billion. Wayzata’s debut fund closed on about $1.2 billion in 2005, according to Palico.

Action Item: Check out Wayzata’s Form ADV here: http://bit.ly/2AbH7UB

Photo of John McEvoy sourced from LinkedIn