Activa Capital IV holds €100m first close

The fund was launched in 2020 with a €200m target and €250m hard-cap. It expects to hold a final close by the end of the year.

The vehicle targets a 2.5-3x return and 15-25% IRR, the GP told Unquote.

Activa Capital IV employs the same investment strategy as its predecessor, which raised €220m and is currently fully deployed. The vehicle has already made two exits (HR Path and Atlas for Men) and is close to selling label printing group Alliance Etiquettes, the GP told Unquote.

"The outstanding performance of our third fund's portfolio has demonstrated to our potential investors how solid and strong our strategy is, and has allowed us to attract the interest of previous backers and new LPs, despite the difficulties of the pandemic," Activa Capital managing partner Christophe Parier told Unquote. "Furthermore, our strong expertise and specialised investment strategy, which is dedicated to a promising and resilient niche of market – the B2B services segment – has allowed us to gain a competitive advantage compared to more generalist funds."

Established in the early 2000s, Paris-headquartered Activa is managed by a team of 20 professionals led by managing partners Christophe Parier and Alexandre Masson.

Investors
Activa Capital IV has attracted commitments from a large base of LPs, primarily composed of sovereign funds, international funds-of-funds, French institutions, family offices from France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland, and around 20 entrepreneurs, the GP told Unquote.

The fund has recorded a high re-up rate and expects to attract a large number of additional investors in the coming months.

"We are already working with some potential LPs that will soon join our investor base. Thanks to our strong track record and the solid response that the fund has achieved among LPs, we are confident to close the vehicle by the end of 2021," Parier told Unquote.

Investments
Activa Capital IV intends to make 10-12 investments supporting the management buyouts of French companies operating in the B2B services industry. It targets businesses with enterprise values of €20-100m and deploys equity tickets in the €10-30m range, and up to €60m in co-investments.

While platform deals are all based in France, the fund pursues an intense buy-and-build strategy also across the rest of Europe, Asia and the US, with the aim of consolidating the market position of its portfolio companies and creating several strong aggregation platforms in the B2B services sector.

The fund has recently inked its first deal by acquiring French software provider Cityzen. The GP told Unquote that it is currently working on a second deal in the French B2B services sector, which is close to be signed.

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