Amundi eyes January final close for second Megatendances fund

The fund is expected to collect up to EUR 400m, with EUR 280m secured to date, Cuny said. It held a first close at the end of Q2 2020, as reported – though the first-close amount remained undisclosed. Unquote previously reported that Amundi PEF was initially eyeing a first close on around half of the fund's original EUR 500m target. The GP was at the time aiming for a 60/40 split between institutional investors and retail investors.

Megatendances II was launched at the end of 2019, and is structured into several vehicles to attract both retail and institutional investors.

The vehicle follows a strategy similar to its predecessor. It takes active minority stakes in growth capital and buyout transactions of private SMEs in France (at least 50% of deployment) and in the rest of the eurozone. For the previous vintage, only 20% of the transactions were done outside of France. Megatendances II could be deployed at up to 40% in companies located in Germany, Italy, Spain and Benelux, Cuny suggested.

Target companies generate revenues of EUR 20m-1.5bn with EBITDA of more than EUR 3m. Investment tickets range from EUR 10m-50m per transaction, with a sweet spot at around EUR 15m. The fund will target 20 investments in total.

Five deals have already been completed. Deals inked this year include refrigerated vehicles manufacturer The Reefer Group, parcel shipping services Cogepart, outdoor accommodation company Sandaya and online used vehicles retailer Carizona. Cuny said Amundi PEF would aim to stick to a target of five or six deals per year.

Potential portfolio companies have to demonstrate they benefit from the impact of five global trends identified by Amundi: technology, demographic change, environment, globalisation, and social changes. Since the pandemic was a wake up call for France and EU member states to relocate strategic industries and strengthen local supply chains, Megatendances II will also focus on companies providing industrial services in the logistics and robotics spaces, while looking at new consumers trends in line with ESG objectives, Cuny said.

The first Megatendances programme raised €320m in 2018, against a target of €250m. It was deployed across 20 deals that have so far generated an average IRR of more than 30%, Cuny said. Two exits (Crosscall and DL Software) have already been completed and three more are expected by year-end, he added.

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• Topics
• Funds
• France
• Amundi Private Equity
• France