Huntington Capital partner Tim Bubnack says the San Diego firm, which operates as both a venture lender and private equity investor, has raised $78 million in capital commitments for its second fund. The firm hopes to raise a total of $100 million for “Fund II” by early next year.
Bubnack told me in October that business activity at Huntington has been bustling despite the economic downturn and credit crunch. Huntington hasn’t been subjected to the same economic pressures as traditional lenders—partly because it raises capital for its loan and investment fund from limited partners instead of relying on financing from big banks and other mega-lenders.
Founded in 2000, the firm provides debt and equity financing to mostly private high-growth companies throughout California and the southwestern United States. Huntington’s criteria excludes most early-stage startups because it prefers to make lower-risk deals. That means it’s seeking well-established, small-to-mid-size companies that need between $1 million and $6 million in capital, and generate from $10 million to $50 million in annual revenue with positive cash flow.
“Our funds are typically used to support management-led buyouts, acquisitions, recapitalizations or other general working capital purposes,” Bubnack says in a statement released by Huntington. “Because of the flexible ways that we can structure a transaction, it is not necessary for our clients to sell or take their company public.”
Investors in Huntington’s Fund II include Hamilton Lane (on behalf of CalPERS, the state’s public employees retirement system), Impact Community Capital (on behalf of Allstate, Farmers, Pacific Life, Safeco and State Farm insurance companies), Union Bank of California, and other institutional investors.
