Ariel Alternatives has closed its Project Black fund, which will leverage $1.45 billion in commitments from its limited partners and co-investors spanning the consumer retail, energy and infrastructure, financial services, healthcare, sovereign and private wealth, and technology sectors.
Project Black is the first private equity initiative of Ariel Investments, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.
The fund seeks to invest in middle-market companies that may not currently be minority-owned, as well as existing Black- or Latino/a-owned businesses, with $100 million to $1 billion in revenue. Under the fund’s ownership, these companies are expected to be transformed into certified minority business enterprises of scale that can serve as tier 1 suppliers to the Fortune 500. Ariel Alternatives aims to forge partnerships between its network of the world’s largest corporations and its portfolio companies.
Each investor has committed $100 million-$200 mil