PAI lines up next flagship fund

PAI filed a registration document for a "PAI Partners VIII GP" vehicle with Luxembourg's Registre de Commerce et des Sociétés on 28 September.

The GP held a final close for the previous fund in 2018 on its EUR 5bn hard-cap, exceeding its EUR 4bn target. At the time, PAI stated that the fundraising was completed in less than three months of active marketing and had a demand of more than EUR 15bn. The fund was significantly larger than its predecessor, PAI Europe VI, which closed on EUR 3.3bn in March 2015.

PAI used placement agent Rede Partners for the PAI VII raise.

The GP's current flagship fund acquires controlling stakes in LBOs across Europe, with a specific focus on mid- to large-cap deals. It focuses on transactions with enterprise values of EUR 300m-1.5bn. The fund deploys equity tickets in the EUR 150m–400m range.

PAI also raised its first vehicle entirely dedicated to investing in smaller mid-market companies this year. PAI Mid-Market Fund (PAI MMF) closed on EUR 920m in March, having launched in January 2020 to complement PAI's existing large-cap strategy. It surpassed its original EUR 700m target and EUR 800m hard-cap, which was increased following significant investor interest, the firm said at the time.

According to Unquote Data, PAI VII was 40% deployed as of the end of 2019. But the firm has been busy since then, ranking in the top five most active buyout investors over the past 12 months, with 11 transactions.

Highlights include real estate and facilities management business Apleona, bought from EQT in a EUR 1.6bn SBO, as well as the purchase of France-based pharmaceutical glass packaging producer SGD Pharma from China Jianyin Investment (JIC). More recently, PAI agreed to buy European Camping Group from Carlyle and other investors. The GP also entered agreements with PepsiCo to buy Tropicana, Naked Juice and other select juice brands across North America for USD 3.3bn.

The fundraising trail is getting busier, with some of PAI's peers having launched or gearing up for their next vehicles. Most notably, Bridgepoint is officially back in the market for its latest flagship private equity fund, Bridgepoint Europe VII, with a target of EUR 7bn, as reported.

Permira is also gearing up for the launch of its new buyout fund, having filed documents with Luxembourg's Registre de Commerce et des Sociétés on 26 July. Bloomberg reported that Permira was in the early stages of talking to investors, potentially hitting the road in the second half of 2021 to try and raise more than USD 15bn. Meanwhile, fellow French GP Astorg is also preparing for its eighth flagship, having registered the fund in late June – its current vehicle raised EUR 4bn in 2019.

PAI had not returned a request for comment at the time of publication.

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