Crescendo Partners, whose activist-oriented portfolio Crescendo Partners III reported a 2% gain last month and is up 151% for the year and 22% since its inception in January 2007, is on a fundraising push.

The hedge fund firm told FINalternatives that it is initiating a targeted capital raise of $100 million for the portfolio, and expects to close the round in the first quarter of 2010. 

Eric Rosenfeld, who formed Crescendo Partners in 1998 after managing the merger arbitrage business at Oppenheimer and Company for 14 years, said he sees tremendous opportunities for Crescendo’s style of patient activism, but plans to build assets gradually over time. 

In situations where Rosenfeld chooses to become active, the fund typically buys between 5% and 20% of a company. The activist hedge fund is an investor in such 2009 standout activist investments as Cott Corp, Bridgewater Systems, and Destination Maternity. 

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Activist Hedge Fund Crescendo Partners III Up 154% YTD