Superior Capital Partners plans to raise second fund, expand staff

Superior Capital Partners is gearing up to begin fundraising for its second fund, a move that could spur a sizable growth in the downtown Detroit-based firm.

“We’re hoping to at least double in size,” says Mark Carroll, managing partner of Superior Capital Partners.

The private-equity firm got its start in 2007 with two people focused on turning around lower middle market companies. Superior Capital Partners raised $60 million and expanded its staff to five. Its first investment was in two companies in 2009 that became XanEdu, an Ann Arbor-based firm that made the transition from printing educational materials, like college course packs, to digitizing them for tablet computers. It is now the largest provider of custom, digital course packs for higher-education markets.

The move won awards, including Small Deal of the Year in 2009 from Crain’s Detroit Business. Carroll will also be speaking about the deal and its impact at this week’s Michigan Growth Capital Symposium in Ann Arbor, one of the top investment conferences in the Midwest.

“It was worthy of being saved,” Carroll says.

Superior Capital Partners has invested in 13 companies across five platforms in its first fund. Those companies represent 2,000 employees and $230 million in revenue. Carroll and his team are planning to begin laying the groundwork for raising a second fund worth $120 next year, which should allow Superior Capital Partners to hire three more people.

Source: Mark Carroll, managing partner of Superior Capital Partners
Writer: Jon Zemke

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