05/26/2010

Longtime Pomona Pros Hand In Resignations

Pomona Capital has lost two partners.

Tom Bradley and Mark Maruszewski quit the New York secondary-market shop on May 18. Expectations are that the duo will now take some time off to consider their next moves, which could be to start a secondary operation either on their own or as part of a larger institution.

In the meantime, a buzz has developed around the departures. The day after Bradley and Maruszewski resigned, Pomona sent a letter to investors that downplayed their importance - a tactic some limited partners felt was misleading. Bradley headed the firm's deal-origination efforts. Maruszewski was aiding in those efforts in recent months, while also leading reviews, financing and execution of investments.

Both also sat on Pomona's management committee. But sources characterized the pair as working a tier below founder Michael Granoff and his main lieutenants, Steve Futrell and Fran Janis. "Tom and Mark had the partner title but they weren't equal partners," said one outsider.

Neither Bradley nor Maruszewski was named as a key man on any Pomona funds, with that distinction reserved for Granoff and Janis. Still, they were thought to be comfortable in their positions and their exits took some market players by surprise. Bradley had been on board since 1998, four years after Granoff started the shop. Maruszewski arrived in 2000.

There have been conflicting accounts of whether Pomona is seeking replacements. A number of other senior and mid-level staffers have left the firm in recent years, including partners Paul Delaney, Barry Miller and Brian Wright.

With Bradley and Maruszewski gone, Pomona has six partners on board: Granoff, Futrell and Janis, as well as more recent additions Oliver Gardey, Lorraine Hliboki and Jordan Robinson. Gardey joined last year to run the firm's European operations. Hliboki arrived in 2007 as head of co-investments. Robinson signed on in 2008 to coordinate product development and marketing.

Pomona is in the midst of marketing a fund called Pomona Capital Secondary Co-Investment that would buy co-investments from backers of private equity vehicles. It wants to raise $350 million for the vehicle. It's also deploying its seventh core secondary-market fund, which beat its $1 billion equity target to hold a final close last June with $1.3 billion.

The firm also runs funds of funds and co-investment-focused separate accounts. It gets some direct backing from ING, although the bank has indicated that it may not devote additional capital to the arrangement.