BlackFin closes second fund on €400m hard-cap

The final close comes one year after BlackFin Financial Services Fund II went to market. Launched with a €350m target in January 2015, the vehicle held a €160m first close that same month, followed by a €300m second close in July 2015.

The GP enlisted the help of Lazard as placement agent and King & Wood Mallesons as legal adviser.

The strong LP appetite for BlackFin's second fund is at odds with its predecessor, a 2009-vintage maiden vehicle that fell short of its €300m target when it closed on €220m in June 2011.

Investors
At the time of its €160m first close, BlackFin Financial Services Fund II had raised capital from a 10-strong LP base, featuring both institutional investors and family offices. When the vehicle came to its €300m second close, the GP revealed that UniGestion and state backers European Investment Fund and BPI France had been added as LPs.

As fundraising concluded in early February 2016, BlackFin confirmed to unquote" that banks and insurers provided 50% of the €400m raised, while funds-of-funds and family offices supplied the remaining 40% and 10%, respectively. According to a source close to the GP, 60% of all its LPs are based in France, while the remaining 40% come from other European countries.

Investments
BlackFin Financial Services Fund II will follow in its predecessor's footsteps, seeking asset-light companies in the continental European financial services sector. Segments targeted by the fund include asset management, institutional and retail brokerage, insurance and banking products distribution.

The new vehicle will make at least 12 investments of €5-30m in small to medium-sized companies with an enterprise value of up to €100m.

As of early February 2016, the fund has been used to acquire three companies and deployed approximately 25% of its capital, according to an unquote" source. In August 2015, BlackFin acquired Royal Bank of Scotland's Luxembourg-based €28.5bn fund division after a four-month sale process.

This was followed by the purchases of insurance broker Santiane and fintech business New Access Banking Software in September and November 2015, respectively.

People
BlackFin Capital Partners – Laurent Bouyoux (managing partner); Bruno Rostain, Paul Mizrahi, Eric May (managing directors).

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