About Behrman Capital

• Founded: 1991

• Headquarters: New York, United States

• AUM: Approximately $4bn as of 2024

• Strategy: Middle-market buyout, manufacturing and value-added distribution

• Thesis: The firm focuses on operational value creation in companies with recurring revenue models and strong management teams, targeting businesses where industry consolidation and operational improvement can drive returns independent of multiple expansion.

• Track record: Prior funds include Behrman Capital IV ($1.6bn, 2016) and Behrman Capital V ($2.4bn, 2021)

• Leadership: Founded by Darryll Halbert and Grant Behrman; current leadership includes managing partners Grant Behrman and Christopher Colbert

Behrman Capital closed a $250m single-asset continuation vehicle for Shurco, a specialty industrials portfolio company. Coller Capital led the transaction, which allowed existing investors to either roll equity forward or take liquidity while providing Behrman with additional capital and time to execute its value creation plan for the asset.

Continuation vehicles have become a standard liquidity tool for mid-market buyout firms managing portfolio concentration risk, but the $250m size here is notable — it sits at the upper end for single-asset deals outside mega-fund sponsors. That scale suggests either meaningful operational progress since initial acquisition or a portfolio company that has grown into an outsized position relative to fund size. Behrman Capital V, the firm's most recent flagship fund at $2.4bn, would typically hold 8–12 platform investments; a continuation vehicle at this size implies Shurco represents a material portion of remaining unrealized value. The firm's focus on manufacturing and value-added distribution — sectors with longer value creation cycles — makes the continuation vehicle a logical mechanism to avoid a forced sale into what has been a challenging exit environment for mid-market industrials over the past 18 months.

What remains unclear is the pricing dynamic. Continuation vehicles led by secondary buyers like Coller typically reset valuations to reflect current market conditions, which can be a downward adjustment from prior marks depending on comparable transaction multiples and EBITDA performance. If Shurco's fundamentals supported an upward repricing, Behrman would likely have pursued a traditional sale process rather than a continuation vehicle — the presence of a secondary-led structure suggests the firm opted for certainty and extended hold period over testing primary M&A appetite. The test will be whether the additional runway — typically 3–5 years in these structures — allows Behrman to execute a sale at a valuation that justifies the vehicle's economics after Coller's preferred return.

Source: AltAssets