Mansa Capital Management, LLC, a Boston-based private equity firm focused on the $2.5 trillion healthcare sector, announced today its debut healthcare growth fund has invested $7MM into Independent Living Systems as the fund's flagship investment.

"Mansa Capital is focused on the intersection of healthcare policy, clinical research, technology development and demographic trends," said Managing Partner and CIO, Ruben J. King-Shaw Jr. "With extensive relationships in healthcare, PE and banking, we have the ability to add significant value to our portfolio companies to keep them ahead of the market."

Debut Healthcare Fund

Mansa aggressively seeks out high-growth investment opportunities in healthcare services and technology as well as companies with innovative approaches to contain costs while improving clinical outcomes. Generally, Mansa looks for companies with up to $150MM in enterprise value, and seeks to make investments between $5MM and $10MM. Mansa's principals leverage their experience in healthcare policy, operations and corporate governance to quickly identify and resolve problems as they develop at each portfolio company.

"We are pleased that the investors in our debut healthcare fund include not only institutional investors, but also a number of individual entrepreneurs who believe in our ability to provide not just growth capital, but meaningful assistance and guidance to the leadership of the portfolio companies in which we invest," said Mansa Partner & COO, Jason Torres.

Mansa's investment of $7MM in Independent Living Systems is the first by the firm's new healthcare fund. The company is focused on healthcare management services, and partners with providers, payers and public sector entities to administer services to elderly populations and individuals with chronic illnesses or other special needs.

"We selected Independent Living Systems as the fund's flagship investment because it fits squarely with our strategy and exemplifies the types of healthcare companies in which we seek to invest. We're particularly interested in companies with capabilities to serve the healthcare needs of Urban and Hispanic populations," added King-Shaw.

Targeted Expertise

Mansa's principals leverage a wealth of diverse expertise in healthcare operations, marketing and finance including extensive senior-level experience in healthcare policy, regulation and reimbursement. The breadth of Mansa's principals' experience allows Mansa to assist portfolio companies through diverse stages of growth.

Prior to Mansa, Ruben King-Shaw Jr. served as Sr. Advisor to the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury. Earlier, he was the COO and Deputy Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Prior to that, he was Secretary of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. He has extensive experience in growth equity investments in the healthcare information technology and healthcare services sectors.

Mansa Partner and COO Jason P. Torres is a Board Member and Chairman of the Audit Committee at BioIQ. Prior to Mansa, Torres was with Deutsche Bank High Yield Group where he structured CDO offerings for PE groups. There, he performed credit analysis to work-out positions and was responsible for technology, cable, and healthcare credits.

Mansa Partner Richard N. Foster was 2011 National Meeting Chair of the Community Health Data Initiative (a joint venture of the Department of Health & Human Services and the Institute of Medicine). He's a member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Executive Committee. In addition, Foster served as Nominating & Governance Committee Chair for Athenahealth.

Strong Healthcare History

"In June 2011, we launched Mansa Capital to focus on our key areas of expertise-health IT, diagnostic imaging and healthcare services-with a particular focus on healthcare for Urban and Hispanic populations," said Torres. "Prior to our debut fund announced today, we invested our own capital in deals with nine companies, three of which we were able to successfully take to IPO and the remainder were either sold privately or remain a part of Mansa Capital's portfolio."

"With a strong foundation based on earlier successes, we are now focused on future investments by Mansa's debut healthcare fund to follow our investment in Independent Living Systems. We're currently seeking investments in healthcare IT, distribution and services companies," said King-Shaw.

About Mansa Capital

Mansa Capital is a Boston private equity firm focused on the $2.5 trillion healthcare sector. Prior to launching the new healthcare fund, the firm used its expertise in healthcare policy and economics to help management grow top line revenues and develop new products that build exceptional value. Mansa Capital's principals bring to the firm extensive expertise in healthcare operations, marketing and finance including senior-level experience in healthcare compliance, regulation and reimbursement. The team has distinctive knowledge in the early identification of innovative business models that enable patients and providers to thrive in the post-healthcare reform environment. The firm also has special insights in the largely untapped Hispanic healthcare market. www.MansaCapital.com