Cipio Partners eyes March first close for eighth fund

The fund was registered in January 2020, according to a regulatory filing.

The fundraising process was launched in Q4 2020, according to a source close to the situation. The European Investment Fund (EIF) approved a commitment to the vehicle in December 2020, according to publicly available documents.

The vehicle has a target of €200m and its first closing is expected by March 2021, the source added.

The vehicle's predecessor, Cipio Partners Fund VII, held a final close in July 2017 on €174m. The fund followed Cipio's established strategy of making direct secondary investments in expansion-stage technology companies based in Europe. The GP acquires stakes in single companies from existing investors, as well as entire portfolios of assets.

Fund VII's LP base is composed of institutional investors including UBS Global Asset Management and EIF, as well as a number of family offices from Europe and the US.

Fund VII's investments included a €8m round for France-based Microoled in August 2020, according to Unquote Data. Cipio generally makes initial investments of €3-10m, but keeps reserves for follow-on commitments.

In July 2020, Fund VII portfolio company Openet Telecom, an Ireland-based telecoms software and service company in which Cipio had acquired a 14% stake from Balderton Capital in 2017, was sold to trade buyer Amdocs. The deal valued Openet at around $180m.

Cipio declined to comment.

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