
Kern Vijayvargiya
Vice President
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- Full Name
- Kern Vijayvargiya
- Title
- Principal (promoted January 2026; previously Vice President, 2020–2026)
- Firm
- Behrman Capital
- Firm Type
- Middle-market private equity (control buyouts) — *not an angel investor/seed-stage fund, despite aggregator listings*
- Investment Stage
- Control buyouts, recapitalizations, corporate divestitures, and growth investments in established middle-market companies (not seed/angel)
- Check Size
- Firm-level: equity investments of ~$25–$100 million
- Target Company Profile
- Firm-level: North American companies with ~$50–$200M revenue and up to ~$25M EBITDA
- Sector Focus
- Specialty Industrials and Healthcare (firm also covers Defense & Aerospace)
- Geographic Focus
- North America
- Location
- New York, New York (firm HQ); previously Houston, Texas (Sterling Group)
Background
Kern Vijayvargiya is a private equity investor at Behrman Capital, a New York–based middle-market buyout firm founded in 1991 that has raised roughly $4.3 billion since inception and acquired more than 35 platform companies. He joined Behrman as a Vice President in November 2020 and was promoted to Principal in January 2026, where he concentrates on the firm's Specialty Industrials and Healthcare sectors.
Before Behrman, he was a Vice President at The Sterling Group, a Houston-based, operationally-focused middle-market private equity firm, from roughly 2019 to 2020, working on buyouts in the Specialty Industrials sector (his portfolio assignment there included Highline). Earlier in his career he was a hedge-fund analyst at Tiger Global Management, focused on technology and consumer investments; an associate at Golden Gate Capital covering consumer and technology; and a Business Analyst at McKinsey & Company.
On the education side, Vijayvargiya earned a BA in Mathematical Economic Analysis and Managerial Studies, summa cum laude, from Rice University (2012), and an MBA with honors and a Finance concentration from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania (2018).
*Note on the "Angel Investor / Seed Round" label:* Some investor-aggregator databases tag Vijayvargiya as an angel investor doing seed deals. Primary sources (Behrman Capital, The Sterling Group) show his professional work is institutional control-buyout private equity, not seed-stage angel investing. Any personal angel activity could not be verified from primary sources.
Investment Thesis & Focus
- Invests through Behrman Capital's institutional strategy: taking control positions in high-quality, North American middle-market companies, creating value via earnings growth, cash generation, and improved strategic positioning.
- Sectors he personally covers: Specialty Industrials and Healthcare.
- Deal types (firm): buyouts/recapitalizations, corporate divestitures, and liquidity solutions for founder- and family-owned businesses.
- Firm sizing: targets companies with ~$50–$200M revenue and up to ~$25M EBITDA, writing ~$25–$100M equity checks — a profile of established, cash-generative businesses rather than early-stage startups.
Notable Investments
- Vista Apex — manufacturer of dental consumables (endodontic, restorative, and periodontic products); acquired by Behrman Capital from Inverness Graham in April 2024. Vijayvargiya serves on its board.
- Highline — portfolio assignment during his time as a Vice President at The Sterling Group (Specialty Industrials).
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