Mercanti Group, the Minneapolis investment banking firm, announced the formation of CoVestia Capital Partners, a private equity co-investment fund. With an initial closing of $30 million in capital, CoVestias Limited Partners include principals of Mercanti, institutional investors, Mercanti Board Members and former clients.
“CoVestia is a highly differentiated investment fund that we have spent considerable time structuring to enable Mercanti partners and others to invest alongside investors in certain transactions where our firm served as the financial advisor,” said James DAquila, founding partner of Mercanti.
“Additionally, the fund is structured in a way that will allow it to participate as a co-investor in deals developed by other firms with whom we have relationships, and also, given current market conditions, to deploy capital in a highly flexible manner,” added DAquila.
“While not every transaction we get involved in as financial advisors might be appropriate for this type of investment, CoVestia will enable Mercanti and its investors to participate where we can in private equity situations with our own capital, and always on an equitable basis for all parties involved,” DAquila said. “Very few investment banks have the ability to step up in this manner, but we believe that CoVestia Capital Partners will further differentiate Mercanti in addition to providing us with profitable investment opportunities.”
