Atlanta-based investment firm o15 Capital Partners has successfully closed nearly $400M for its inaugural fund.

Its Emerging America Credit Opportunities Fund LP raised approximately $370M alongside co-investment vehicles, totaling nearly $400M. The fund received strong backing from a broad group of leading banks, family offices, foundations, and institutional investors, including public and corporate pensions.

The mission-driven alternative investment firm is dedicated to providing growth capital to undercapitalized companies and communities

o15 Capital Partners is Equipping Lower Middle Market Businesses

“There is a growing, untapped opportunity today to invest in tremendous American lower middle market businesses – the true engine of our economy – that are underserved by the capital markets,” said Colin Meadows, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of o15. “Private credit strategies remain a crucial source of business financing, and by looking where other market participants are not, we can source compelling, proprietary deal flow while creating stronger local economies and more equitable communities.”

Founded in 2022 by Colin Meadows, Kenneth Saffold, and Brian Morris, o15 aims to invest opportunistically in the private credit and equity tranches of companies operating in the healthcare, education, and business services sectors. These sectors profoundly affect under-resourced communities where the team has significant prior investment experience.

“o15’s flexible mandate enables us to act as a one-stop capital provider and deliver creative financing solutions tailored to a company’s unique business plans and needs,” said Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Kenneth Saffold. “We also seek to leverage our extensive networks to bring strategic and operational expertise to ensure the entrepreneurs with whom we partner have the resources they need to scale and succeed long term.”

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, the o15 team has a deep network among the corporate and civic communities in the Southeastern U.S., providing the firm with a distinct advantage in working with and investing in regional businesses. o15 connects investors with emerging opportunities in America, prioritizing safety and growth through its unique network and careful investment approach.

How o15 Capital’s Fund Will Be Deployed

To date, o15 has deployed over 20% of the Fund’s commitments, supporting over 1,200 jobs across four portfolio companies. So far, O15 has backed several companies from the new fund, including joining Line 5 Capital in its investment in Engineered Recycling Systems, which focuses on developing machinery used in scrap metal separation and dust collection from paper making.

The firm has also backed Lone Peak Dental Group, a dental services organization with over 75 offices in 15 states that primarily provides pediatric care for Medicaid recipients. 

Meadows said the firm had collected commitments to the fund for nearly two years. The fund’s institutional investors include Invesco, pension systems, family offices, and banks. Because the fund is SBIC-licensed, banks can invest alongside it as limited partners. 

Growth-focused o15 generally writes checks of $10M to $40M to back smaller companies with earnings of $3M to $15M in the healthcare, education, and business services sectors. 

According to research provider PitchBook Data, the firm collected investor commitments for its debut vehicle even as global fundraising for impact investing fell from a six-year peak of $155.6 billion in 2022 to $68.9 billion last year.