RenTech’s Simons Bankrolls $132M Buyout Fund

Topspin Partners has closed its second buyout fund with $132 million.

The Long Island private equity firm’s Topspin Partners LBO had a $100 million initial target and a hard cap of $150 million. It had already raised some $115 million at a previous closing in May 2007.

The lead investor in the lower middle-market buyout fund is fellow Long Islander James Simons, the billionaire head of East Setauket, N.Y.-based quantitative hedge fund Renaissance Technologies. Other investors include high net-worth individuals and family offices.

Topspin focuses on taking controlling stakes in companies with between $2 million and $7 million in earnings, especially in the consumer products, retail, food, media, niche manufacturing and security industries.