Graham Capital Investments, part of a family-owned business and investment group linked to industrialist Donald C. Graham, is hitting the market with its debut fund dedicated to lower-middle-market, independent sponsor deals.
The Pennsylvania firm is seeking to raise $250 million for the fund, and the GP has chipped in more than $40 million of its own money, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
GCI’s new fund will back independent sponsors in primary and secondary transactions, the people said.
In primary deals, Graham will work alongside the sponsor to conduct due diligence and raise third-party capital for each transaction, with the fund taking a share of deal economics in return.
The new pool will also back continuation funds, allowing managers to crystallize gains on companies and cash out existing investors without having to sell.
The fund can also provide seed capital to managers preparing to raise a blind pool fund, in exchange for a GP stake in the management company.
GCI declined to comment on the fundraising.
Independent sponsors typically find a target, line up the deal and then raise the capital for it, a reverse of the traditional blind pool fund model.
Newly formed PE firms or spinout managers have historically employed this playbook to build a performance record ahead of their first fundraise.
In recent years, the strategy has been gaining traction as a prolonged exit drought and fundraising challenges have prompted more PE rainmakers to branch out on their own.
PitchBook in July reported that these deals have, in general, outperformed buyout funds, citing an industry study.
A growing number of managers have raised dedicated pools of commitments backing these deals. Among them, Global Endowment Management closed a $450 million fund in April 2025. In March of the same year, Align Capital Partners raised $233 million for its debut fund dedicated to the strategy and closed a second fund in June 2026 at its $375 million hard cap.
Founded in 2021, Graham Capital Investments is a private investment arm of Graham Group, a group of businesses and investment firms tied to the Graham family. Patriarch Donald Graham founded Graham Engineering, which manufactures and sells plastics processing machinery, in 1960.
The team recently backed Crescentia Capital’s investment in Underwater Construction Corporation, a commercial diving services company serving nuclear and hydroelectric plants, the US Navy and municipal water infrastructure.
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This article originally appeared on PitchBook News
