Ara Partners Closes Second Fund With $1.1 Billion of Capital Commitments

Oversubscribed Industrial Decarbonization Fund Exceeds Initial Target and Hard Cap

HOUSTON and BOSTON, Sept. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ara Partners ("Ara"), a private equity firm specializing in industrial decarbonization investments, today announced the closing of Ara Fund II ("Fund II" or the "Fund") with approximately $1.1 billion in capital commitments.  The Fund was significantly oversubscribed, exceeding its $650 million initial target and increasing its hard cap.  The Fund received commitments from a diverse set of returning and new institutional investors in North America, Europe and Asia, including public pensions, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations.

Led by Managing Partners Troy Thacker and Charles Cherington, Fund II will continue Ara's strategy of investing in the ongoing decarbonization of the industrial economy, the greatest source of carbon emissions globally. Ara seeks investments in companies in the United States, Canada and Europe that have the potential to achieve significant reductions in carbon emissions. Ara works closely with management teams to enhance greenhouse gas ("GHG") and waste reduction goals, while closely tracking environmental impact. In leveraging the team's combined technical and operations expertise, Ara seeks to execute both buyout and industrial growth investments in high-growth companies across the industrial and manufacturing, chemicals and materials, energy efficiency and green fuels, and food and agriculture sectors.

Ara Partners' experienced investment team includes Partners Cory Steffek, Tuan Tran and Chris Picotte, as well as a deep roster of professionals operating from offices in Houston, Boston and Dublin, Ireland.

"We are extremely gratified by the very strong interest in Fund II and pleased to welcome several well-respected institutional investors to our limited partner base," said Charles Cherington, Managing Partner of Ara Partners.  "We particularly appreciate the support of our returning investors from Fund I and look forward to pursuing strong returns for all of our partners through an investment portfolio that is actively reducing GHG emissions, carbon and waste."

"We're pleased to see the investment community recognize Ara Partners' distinctive approach to sourcing and investing in innovative companies at the forefront of a decarbonizing world," said Troy Thacker, Managing Partner of Ara Partners. "We believe that our differentiated focus on lowering carbon emissions in the industrial sector is an important piece of the global climate effort and look forward to continuing to execute investments across this growing sector."

Current portfolio companies of Fund II are Polar Sapphire (high purity alumina serving Li-ion battery, LED, sapphire and semiconductor markets), Aloxe (European PET plastics recycling platform), px Group (fully integrated UK industrial asset operator focused on renewables and decarbonization), Anesco (UK market leader in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects) and Divert (recycler of unsold retail food waste into renewable natural gas).  Ara expects to announce Fund II's sixth platform investment in the near future.

Lazard acted as placement agent, and Debevoise & Plimpton served as legal counsel in the formation of Fund II.

About Ara Partners
Ara Partners is a private equity firm specializing in industrial decarbonization investments. Ara invests in the industrial & manufacturing, chemicals & materials, energy efficiency & green fuels, and food & agriculture sectors, seeking to build businesses that provide significant decarbonization impact. For more information on Ara Partners, please visit www.AraPartners.com.

Contacts
Mark Semer / Alex Jeffrey
Gasthalter & Co. LP.
arapartners@gasthalter.com
(212) 257-4170