​​​​​Capvis grapples with EUR 1bn fundraise amid team exodus

Switzerland-based Capvis officially started the fundraising process in early 2023, one of the sources said. However, it has not only had to contend with tough market conditions, but has also been engulfed in “internal management discrepancies”, one of the sources said, adding that this played a part in five partners leaving the firm in just two years, most recently Simon Lussi, as reported.

Giovanni Revoltella joined German sponsor DBAG as head of Italy in September 2021, having been with Capvis for six and a half years.

In February 2022, three other Capvis partners left the firm to establish eevolve: Eric Trueeb, who was with Capvis for 21 years, Ueli Eckhardt, who had an 18-year tenure, and Philippe Bucher, who left Capvis after five years.

Capvis’ former head of HR, Daniel Huber, and investment professional Stefano Robbiani joined eevolve in mid-2022, according to LinkedIn.

Capvis' Swiss base is not the only office facing departures, as investment professional Julian Popov from Capvis Germany is leaving the firm to join Bregal Unternehmerkapital, one of the sources and a third source familiar said.

Popov was on the board of several Capvis portfolio companies including Tertianum, the biggest investment in Capvis’ current crop, and Hennecke Group, according to his LinkedIn page. Popov also handled the investments in AdEx and BSI, according to LinkedIn.

The many recent departures are a concern for Capvis’ LPs, one of the sources said. Two of the sources expressed doubt that the firm will be able to come even close to the EUR 1bn target for Capvis VI.

The firm raised EUR 1.2bn for Capvis Equity V in 2018, and so even raising EUR 1bn would be “a step back”, one of the sources said. In fact, Capvis is likely to postpone the fundraise altogether, this source said.

Capvis V has made seven platform investments to date, according to the GP's website. Its funds have historically made approximately eight to nine deals in total, according to Unquote data.

Since the initial round of departures, Capvis has slowed down its deployment significantly, according to Mergermarket data. The firm has made only a few smaller add-on acquisitions since it bought agricultural components producer ARAG in November 2020, and did not make another platform investment until late October 2022, when it acquired AdEx.

The firm has made some recent exits. It sold ARAG in June 2023, via a EUR 960m trade sale. In the same month, it sold B2B platform Visable to Alibaba.

In August 2021, Capvis announced that it had raised a EUR 230m continuation vehicle to house the remaining assets in its 2008-vintage, EUR 608m Capvis Equity III vehicle: German eco-fashion company Hessnatur, Italy-based swimwear and swimming equipment provider Arena, and Kaffee Partner, a distributor of coffee and water dispensing machines based in the DACH region.

Arena was recently reported as being for sale via Houlihan Lokey.

When contacted, Capvis confirmed that Julian Popov is leaving the firm, but did not comment further. Bregal declined to comment.

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