Bernhard Capital Partners, the Baton Rouge-based private equity firm founded four years ago by Jim Bernhard and several of his top executives from The Shaw Group, has raised more than $700 million for its second fund, according to recent reports from several trade publications that track the PE market, including PE Hub, AltAssets and Pitchbook.
The fund, called the Bernhard Industrial Services Fund II, debuted early this year with a target of $1 billion. It’s unclear if the fund has closed at $700 million or if fundraising continues. BCP officials decline to comment.
The success of Fund II comes 18 months after BCP closed its maiden Energy Services Fund, after raising $750 million from large, institutional investors that include the Louisiana State Employees’ Retirement System and the University of Michigan Endowment, according to Prequin Private Equity Online.
The Energy Services Fund helped grow the four portfolio companies owned in whole or in part by BCP—Brown and Root, Epic Piping, ATC, and Bernhard MCC—which have continued to grow through acquisitions.
The Energy Services Fund also put BCP on the map and earned the upstart firm credibility in the high-stakes PE world. At the time, industry observers told Business Report  it was virtually unheard of for a first-time fund based on the Gulf Coast—and in Louisiana, no less—to raise as much as $750 million.
Like its predecessor, Fund II is expected to target North American mid-market companies in the energy services sector across the midstream, downstream and power verticals. Â Â
Jim Bernhard, Jeff Jenkins and a handful of other former executives from The Shaw Group formed BCP in 2013, after CB&I acquired the company. In 2014, they took to the road to begin fundraising. After a two-year non-compete period had ended, they publicly unveiled their plans for BCP.
—Stephanie Riegel
