(Bloomberg) -- Investment firm B Capital hired former H.I.G. Capital managing director Timur Akazhanov as a general partner as it aims to make larger growth equity investments in tech firms and tech-enabled service companies.
Akazhanov’s mandate is to focus on situations where B Capital — co-founded by billionaire Eduardo Saverin — can obtain significant influence or control by acquiring increasingly sizable stakes, executives said in an interview.
B Capital has previously written checks of between $10 million and $100 million. It can invest up to $400 million in companies through its new effort, which it describes as “strategic growth equity,” co-founder Raj Ganguly said.
“Our goal is to take meaningful stakes in companies and, at a minimum, we’re looking at one board seat if not multiple board seats,” he said.
The firm has amassed stakes of at least 30% in several portfolio companies and, through its new strategy, may seek to own more than 50%.
‘Continuous Evolution’
“As the technology industry continues to mature, growth-stage companies need partners who can provide both capital and strategic value through their continuous evolution,” said Saverin, who previously co-founded Facebook, now Meta Platforms Inc.
Akazhanov will focus on investing in companies valued at less than $1 billion including debt, he said. He’ll support their growth, in part, by connecting them with B Capital’s AI engineering team, led by Saverin, which can help companies build applications and automate parts of their business.
“We believe private-capital investing is going to be transformed through data and generative AI,” Ganguly said.
New York-based Akazhanov, who also worked at Blackstone Inc. and Bain Capital, will partner on the strategy with Sami Ahmad, a general partner and deputy chief investment officer.
Founded in 2015, B Capital has more than $7 billion of assets under management.
The firm has backed companies including last-mile delivery service Ninja Van, software-maker Icertis, machine-learning startup DataRobot, digital health firm Innovaccer and cryptocurrency brokerage FalconX.
It also invested in cybersecurity company Perimeter 81, which was acquired by Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., as well as Gameplanner.ai, which was bought by Airbnb Inc.
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