Astorius closes first vehicle, launches second

Launched before Christmas last year, the first feeder fund finished raising within six months and closed in July on €11m, above its target of €10m. It is already fully invested, having committed €5.5m to both Herkules Capital and CapVest.

Astorius decided to raise a small first fund to establish itself on the market and to gain the confidence of future investors, according to Thomas Weinmann, founder of Astorius. Its second fund aims to raise between €30-50m over a period of 9-10 months.

The first fund has a typical lifespan of 10 years with the possibility of a two-year extension.

Thomas Weinmann founded Astorius in 2012, leaving BC Partners after 13 years. Prior to BC he worked in leverage finance at investment bank Kleinwort Benson.

Investors
Astorius Capital Private Equity I targeted high-net-worth individuals with links to the private equity industry, such as investment professionals and advisers. Their investments accounted for 80% of the fund, while entrepreneurs provided the remainder.

The management team at Astorius also committed more than €700,000 to the fund, which had a target of €10m.

The second fund will also look to gain commitments from small endowment and pension funds, as well as small family offices unable to commit to larger funds.

Investments
Oslo-based Herkules Capital and CapVest, headquartered in London, received €5.5m each from Private Equity I.

The second fund will look to make 3-5 investments in western, southern and central Europe in order to ensure a broad area of investment for backers.

Astorius will focus on investing in mid-market European private equity funds of between €250m-3bn and ideally between €500m-1bn.

People
Thomas Weinmann, Frank Rohwedder and Julien Zornig are partners at Astorius Capital.

Advisers
P+P Pöllath & Partners (Legal).

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