Afinum back on road for ninth fund

Emma-Victoria Farr
22 February 2021

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German mid-cap investor Afinum has started fundraising for Afinum Neunte Beteiligungsgesellschaft, according to managing partner and co-founder Gernot Eisinger.

Afinum is aiming for a €450-500m vehicle, with a first close targeted for mid-2021, Eisinger said.

The sponsor is in talks with existing investors and will start approaching new investors from March or April, he said.

Founded in 2000, Afinum has 25 employees with offices in Zurich and Munich.

The firm launched its eighth buyout fund, Afinum Achte Beteiligungsgesellschaft, in March 2017 with a target of €400m, and closed it on its hard-cap of €410m in September 2017. The vehicle was substantially larger than its predecessor, which held a final close on €280m in April 2013. The fund is 86% deployed.

Investments
The new fund will have the same investment strategy as its predecessors, including a focus on four verticals: software and technology; industrials; consumer, food and education technology; and healthcare. Its equity ticket size will be raised to €30-35m, from the €25-30m range of the previous funds.

Transaction size will be around double this, between €60m and €100m, Eisinger said.

Afinum is looking to make up to three platform acquisitions alongside opportunistic add-ons this year, Eisinger told Unquote sister publication Mergermarket.