The founder and former managing director of boutique fund manager, Hyperion Asset Management, Dr Pohl departed that role in March this year to focus on offering portfolio management to high net worth individuals and to establish the private equity investment business.

“The opportunity to offer investors a private equity capability by joining forces with a very experienced, established management team of the highest calibre proved to be extremely compelling, in fact irresistible,” said Dr Pohl, when announcing the acquisition and launch of the new business.

Dr Pohl went on to explain that, in his view, the current business environment presents outstanding opportunities for experienced equity professionals to make high quality investments in the private equity space at attractive valuations.

“We believe that there has been a gap in the private equity market at the mid-market level and we’re keen to fill it,” said Dr Pohl. “The fact is that too many promising businesses with real prospects for long term success have been shut off from the capital that they deserve. We are here to change that.”

Dr Pohl built a reputation at Hyperion for rigorous methodology and the application of a highly considered investment philosophy, which led to considerable success and he has remained true to form in the construction of the new venture.

“We are sector agnostic, and focus only on businesses that are consistent with our philosophy,” he explained. “That means those with recurring and maintainable profits, which rules out project-based businesses such as mining and construction. What we are looking for is businesses that have been built from the ground up, where there are strong fundamentals and growth plans but where the owners may be reluctant or unable to fund that growth themselves for a variety of reasons.”

Joining Dr Pohl as managing partners in the new business are former Pinnacle Private Equity joint managing directors, Bill Cook and Peter Ludemann, both of whom are also former members of the AMP Capital Investors private equity team. Jared Pohl, who has held a number of significant roles at Hyperion, is also a managing partner. Dr Pohl will also assume the role of chair of the investment committee and will be joined on the committee by Murray d’ Almeida, a prominent businessman.

Expertise derived from Hyperion’s years of success focusing on mid-market businesses – the Hyperion Small Growth Companies Fund has delivered 16.5% p.a. (net of fees) since inception – is now being applied to the private equity business.

“While the focus of our new business is on unlisted companies, they share many characteristics with those Manny and Jared assessed in their days with Hyperion. Their experience picking portfolio winners along with my own and Peter’s private equity expertise is a winning combination,” said Bill Cook.

“The mid-market funds in which Bill and I were involved: BDF II and PEF III, delivered outstanding returns for investors. Since then, we have both been involved with a number of other successful PE deals,” said Peter Ludemann.

EC Pohl & Co Private Equity Limited is looking  to engage in funding  for management buy-outs, management buy-ins, buy-and-build strategies and succession planning for businesses with annual earnings in the $5 million to $30 million  range, with an enterprise value of between $25 and $150 million. It will be issuing offers to prospective investors from July this year.

“We believe that 2012 will be an excellent vintage for private equity investment,” Dr Pohl concluded.

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