Boston investment firm Bain Capital Ventures raises $525M fund

BOSTON, Massachusetts — Bain Capital Ventures, which has invested in Midwestern health care start-ups, has raised a $525 million fund, its first since 2007.

Bain’s newest fund is slightly larger than its $500 million predecessor, according to reports. Bain invests in companies at various stages of development and focuses on several industries, including health care, software and consumer goods. In Ohio, Bain has backed Concord Township-based contract drug development firm Ricerca Biosciences LLC.

Other Midwestern portfolio companies include Northbrook, Ill.-based genomic diagnostic testing firm Nanosphere; Lake Forest, Ill.-based medical waste disposal company Stericyle; and Minneapolis-based retail health clinic MinuteClinic, acquired by CVS.

Bain Ventures has also hired a new partner, John Connolly, former chief executive of Institutional Shareholder Services, a company that provides voting guidance and research assistance to investors. ISS was acquired in 2007 by Risk Metrics, a New York-based financial risk management firm.

The venture firm is an arm of Bain Capital, a huge private equity company with about $65 billion under management.