Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Elizabeth Burr is out as interim Rite Aid CEO as the pharmacy chain heads toward bankruptcy, Santander executive chair Ana Botín’s $250 million expansion plan is underway, and a private equity vet strikes out on her own. Have a terrific Tuesday!
– New challenge. Over a two-decade career in private equity, Azra Kanji has built expertise in some of the unsexy corners of the dealmaking world, from risk mitigation to driver safety—like one deal for alcohol monitoring devices for DUI offenders. She found B2B services companies interesting because they “fulfill[ed] a need most people don’t even think of as a need until they realize there is a service that does them.”
After 20 years at the middle market firm Abry Partners, Kanji decided it was time to branch out on her own. This month, she closed a $675 million fund for the new Astira Capital Partners to invest in tech-enabled B2B businesses.
The Boston-based investor sees potential to back and help build companies in government tech and services, financial services, marketing services, and government risk and compliance. Astira’s LPs include family offices, endowments, and pensions. Fundraising began in mid-May, and the fund targeting $500 million closed oversubscribed; the firm plans to write checks between $50 million and $200 million. After hiring eight staffers at Astira, Kanji is aiming to invest in seven to 10 companies that have long operating histories, recurring revenue, and market leadership. “We’re looking to invest in interesting businesses that may just need a bit of hand-holding to get to that next acceleration,” she says.
Azra Kanji, founder of the new firm Astira Capital Partners. Courtesy of Azra Kanji This part of the process was new territory for Kanji, who knows what it takes to close a deal but hadn’t raised a fund herself. “I was nervous,” she admits. “I hadn’t been involved in a fundraise before.”
It’s a challenging fundraising environment, especially for emerging managers. Those leading a first, second, or third fund raised 13.9% of total private equity capital in 2022 and early 2023 compared to 26.8% between 2008 and 2021, according to Pitchbook.
Astira’s “digestible” goals helped it fundraise in such a tough climate, Kanji says. “It really was kind of in that sweet spot,” she says.
Kanji decided that, at 43, she had built the expertise and relationships required to launch her own firm but had enough years ahead of her to “really create something that would last.”
“I’m really excited to start with a blank piece of paper and be able to do things in the best way possible,” she says. And while fundraising was a new challenge, she’s looking forward to getting back to the work she knows best. “I’m excited to get to the real work of the deal-doing,” she adds, “but [fundraising] has been a lot less scary and a lot more rewarding than I thought it would be.”
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
@_emmahinchliffe
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