BEX Capital raises USD 765m for Fund IV

The fund had a target of USD 600m and a hard-cap of USD 750m, founder and managing partner at BEX Capital Benjamin Revillon told Unquote.

Clfford Chance provided legal advice on the fundraise. No placement agent was used, Revillon said.

The fundraise took three months, according to a statement. "The fundraise followed a similar timeline to last time – we are privileged to have a very loyal group of investors who were responsive and keen to re-up, which allowed us to wrap up the fund quickly without having to be on the road for a year or more, as is often the case in the industry," Revillon said.

Up to 5% of the fund's hard-cap is reserved for NGOs and non-profit organisations, Revillon said, and BEX Fund IV remains open for these commitments. BEX Capital offers NGOs the opportunity to invest on a no-fee, no-carry basis via its "X shares".

BEX Fund III held a final close in April 2019 on USD 365m, meaning that its successor vehicle is more than double the size of its predecessor. Asked about the decision to raise a larger fund, Revillon said: "The market for fund-of-funds secondaries is quite deep, and we felt that we were sub-scale for the opportunities available with BEX III. We are better equipped to seize these now with a large fund."

Revillon did not disclose specific details on the returns made by the GP's funds to date, but said that BEX Capital has been able to return the cost of capital on its first two funds within five years, combined with a high TVPI and IRR.

BEX Capital was formed in 2010 and has offices in Nice and New York. "We have our headquarters in Nice, and Covid underpinned the choice," Revillon said. "Many people thought moving from Paris to Nice was a bit bold before Covid, but now people now know that you can really work anywhere."

Investors
BEX Fund IV had an 80% re-up rate, Revillon told Unquote. Existing investors increased their commitments to the fund by 50% and the fund was oversubscribed, according to a statement.

"We have a very similar LP base to BEX III, made up of European investors including family offices and founders of PE firms who invest for their own accounts with us," Revillon said. PE founders have contributed around a third of the fund's capital, Revillon added.

"We have very strong backing from the industry and, on a relative basis, a smaller portion of institutional investors this time around – historically, we have only had a handful, and the pace at which we raised the fund was too fast for many of them," Revillon said.

Investments
BEX Capital typically invests in funds-of-funds, secondaries funds and co-investment funds from managers such as HarbourVest, Adams Street, AlpInvest or Partners Group, Revillon said. BEX Fund III made more than 20 investments, while BEX Fund IV expects to make 15-20.

BEX IV will make nano-deals of up to USD 5m, as well as deals with larger tickets of up to USD 400m (before co-investment and structuring) for portfolios of up to USD 1bn, Revillon told Unquote. BEX IV will invest 75% of its capital in the US, 20% in Europe, and 5% in the rest of the world.

People
BEX Capital – Benjamin Revillon (founder, managing partner); Erwin Roex (managing partner).

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Fund-of-funds
• France
• UK / Ireland
• DACH
• Benelux
• Southern Europe
• France
• Secondaries
• Exclusive