Washington & New York, Feb 11 — New Catalyst Strategic Partners (“New Catalyst”) and Ferghana Investment Partners LP (“Ferghana”), a hybrid capital firm providing flexible capital solutions to middle-market businesses, today announced a new strategic partnership. Drawing on New Catalyst’s experience partnering with Next Generation emerging managers, the partnership provides Ferghana with significant capital and strategic support to scale its newly launched hybrid capital platform. Ferghana also made its first investment in a global licensor of large-scale lagoon systems to municipalities and resort operators, reflecting its approach to providing flexible, structured capital alongside management.
Ferghana was founded by Hadley Ma, former Senior Managing Director at MGG Investment Group and an investment professional at both Sixth Street (formerly TPG Sixth Street Partners) and Oaktree Capital Management. Ma brings nearly two decades of institutional private-markets experience across multiple market cycles and applies a disciplined investment approach focused on downside protection and long-term value creation. Ferghana will provide flexible capital solutions positioned between traditional debt and equity to stable and growing businesses. The firm partners with founders, entrepreneurs and family-owned businesses across situations such as growth capital, succession-based planning, minority recapitalizations and management buyouts.
“We identified a significant opportunity to serve middle-market businesses at key inflection points where traditional capital providers often fall short,” said Ma. “Our hybrid capital approach combines sophisticated underwriting with an entrepreneurial mindset, allowing us to structure solutions that aim to protect principal, preserve owner control, and provide participation in long-term upside. New Catalyst deeply understands our ambitions and brings hands-on support to the real operational challenges of launching a new investment firm.”
“At New Catalyst, we seek out Next Generation GPs who serve as thoughtful, value-added partners to the businesses they invest in,” said Jason Howard, Founder and Managing Partner of New Catalyst. “We’ve built conviction that Hadley and the Ferghana team are well-positioned to do exactly that – deliver tailored solutions that bridge traditional financing gaps and support sustainable, long-term growth, which we believe presents a compelling and complementary offering among existing private market asset classes.”
Through the partnership with New Catalyst, Ferghana will gain access to New Catalyst’s ecosystem of tenured private markets professionals and operating partners focused on supporting the Firm’s launch and growth, including areas such as capital raising, business building, and human capital.
New Catalyst was launched in 2024 in strategic partnership with Apollo.
New Catalyst was represented by Sidley Austin LLP and Ferghana was represented by Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.