Capital Croissance collects €350m across two funds

Cairn Capital II was launched in Q3 2018 with a target of €100m; three months later the fund hit its €120m hard-cap. The second generation vehicle has significantly surpassed its predecessor, which closed on €75m in 2015.

K2 Business Club is the first vehicle of its kind for Capital Croissance and represents the GP's first effort towards a diversification strategy. The fund was raised in a few months, Unquote understands.

Long-term investing has been considered a valid option for Capital Croissance since its founding in 2012, though the GP preferred to raise a vehicle featuring a more standard investment period, as it was its maiden fund. Now having some track-record and with long-term funds having become more common, especially in the US, the GP felt it was the right time to raise a vehicle having a longer investment period than average.  

No placement agent was used for the fundraise of the two funds, Unquote has learned.  

Investors
The GP has disclosed that around 200 investors are backing Cairn Capital II, with 90% of LPs from Cairn Capital II's predecessor recommitting to the fund, including BPI France, Ardian and Axa France. Around 100 private investors and a new institutional investor, LGT Capital Partners, have backed the fund for the first time. Moreover, seven management team members of portfolio businesses backed by Cairn Capital I have invested in the second generation vehicle. 

Around two thirds of the amount collected for Cairn Capital II was provided by previous backers, while new LPs have allocated the remainder. 

On the other hand, 13 private investors have backed the K2 Business Club vehicle. These include Edouard de Jenlis, Dominique du Peloux, Hugues Souparis, and the Bourrelier, Parmentier, Barral and Amaury families. 

Investments
Cairn Capital II will pursue a similar investment strategy to the one tested by its predecessor: the vehicle supports, via a majority or minority stake, French SMEs via MBOs, OBOs, MBI transactions and growth capital. The GP will provide tickets of €5-15m from the new vehicle, backing companies generating a €5-75m turnover. The investment period will amount to five to eight years.

K2 Business Club will provide equity tickets in the €15-50m range in exchange for minority and majority stakes. It will target "non-cyclical" French SMEs in sectors such as sustainable food, beauty, well-being, entertainment, IT, digital, luxuries and logistics. It will support them in buy-and-build strategies, international expansion and digital transformation. The fund will have an investment period of 13-15 years, backing five or six mid-market businesses.

The two funds have not yet started investing, though the GP expects to close some deals in the next two or three months, Unquote has learned. 

People
Capital Croissance – Eric Neuplanche (president-founder); Julie Masson, Fabrice Fleury, Cédric Boxberger (partners).

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