Gyrus collects €240m for Cortex Fund

Francesca Veronesi
19 November 2019

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Geneva-based Gyrus Capital has so far collected €240m for its open-ended Cortex Fund, which will back mid-market companies on a deal-by-deal basis.

The fund has already held a first close, though the GP has declined to comment on the actual amount; fundraising for this open-ended capital pool will continue and no target has been set.

Given the nature of the investment pool, Cortex does not operate along the lines of a standard 2-8-20 vehicle, and carry will be paid on a deal-by-deal basis.

The GP is fundraising for two funds simultaneously: the open-ended Cortex fund and the closed-ended Gyrus Principal Fund, which has a target €200m and will be formally launched in early 2020. The two vehicles will co-invest on a number of deals.

No placement agents were used by the GP for the fundraise of Cortex. Weil Gotshal & Manges and Carey Olsen were the legal advisers for Gyrus.

The GP was set up in early 2019 by Robert Watson (formerly of Altaris and Hg) and Guy Semmens (formerly Argos Soditic). The firm expanded its team during the year with the addition of Mirco Dilda, Alyson Greenwood and Cedric Perlet, all previously with Argos. Today the GP counts 12 members.

Gyrus initially set up a mini-fund that pulled together enough capital to execute opportunities.

Investors
All the LPs that have committed to Cortex are institutional LPs, including funds-of-funds, insurance companies and pension funds. Investors are mostly based in western Europe, with a minority from the US. Investors commit to the fund based on a desired number of transactions and duration, with the possibility to withdraw at any time with notice.

Investments
Cortex will invest in businesses on a deal-by-deal basis and will target mid-market companies across Europe that are non-cyclical, with business models related to demographic or regulatory changes. The GP expects to invest in a number of businesses related to the healthcare and sustainability sectors, but not exclusively.

Earlier this year, Cortex backed the carve-out of DowDuPont.

People
Gyrus – Guy Semmens (managing partner).