About Cerberus

• Founded: 1992

• Headquarters: New York City, United States

• AUM: approximately $60bn as of 2024

• Strategy: Opportunistic private equity and credit across distressed situations, middle-market buyouts, and national security-related assets

• Thesis: Targets control investments in businesses critical to U.S. economic and national security infrastructure, particularly in defense, supply chain resilience, and industrial sectors where geopolitical risk creates dislocation and value

• Track record: Previous supply chain fund (Fund I) closed in 2022 at $2.2bn; firm historically known for distressed debt and special situations investing before expanding into sector-focused PE strategies

• Leadership: Steve Feinberg, Co-founder and Co-CEO

Cerberus is raising its second supply chain-focused fund with a target of at least $4bn. The vehicle builds on the firm's first supply chain fund, which closed at $2.2bn in 2022. The strategy centers on businesses deemed critical to U.S. economic and national security infrastructure, positioning the firm at the intersection of industrial investment and geopolitical risk.

The near-doubling of fund size from predecessor to target suggests Cerberus believes the supply chain thesis has broadened, not narrowed, since the first fund launched. LP appetite for national security-aligned strategies has grown steadily since 2020, driven by pandemic-era disruption, semiconductor shortages, and defense spending increases. Apollo closed a $7.3bn hybrid fund in late 2023 with a component dedicated to critical infrastructure; Sixth Street raised $1.4bn for a vehicle targeting defense and aerospace in early 2024. Cerberus is sizing this fund for what looks like sustained LP conviction, not a tactical window.

The question is deployment pace relative to asset scarcity. Supply chain targets with genuine national security relevance—defense contractors, semiconductor tooling, rare earth processing—trade at scarcity premiums and face regulatory review that slows transaction timelines. A $4bn fund assumes a pipeline deeper than the handful of marquee defense plays that circulate among national security-focused managers. If Cerberus deploys at the pace its first fund did, the firm will need to demonstrate repeatability in sourcing proprietary deal flow, not just sizing up for a competitive auction market in a narrow sector.

Source: Private Equity Wire