France Fundraising Pipeline - Q4 2020

At first glance, the headline fundraising figures for French GPs in H1 2020 seem to belie the incredibly challenging landscape created by the Covid-19 pandemic: Unquote recorded 18 final closes between January and June for aggregate commitments of €24bn, with the latter far exceeding the €9.1bn and €9.6bn seen in H1 2019 and H1 2018, respectively.

But that figure was skewed dramatically by Ardian's activity: the GP raked in no less than €19bn in H1, first with its €3bn Private Debt Fund IV vehicle in January, but mostly through its record-breaking $19bn secondaries vehicle, ASF VIII.

Other French GPs had success in H1, of course: Montefiore Investment V closed on €850m, Five Arrows Secondary Opportunities V held a final close on €1bn, Apax Development Fund held a final close on €255m, and Cathay Capital drew in €1.3bn across a couple of funds, among others.

But most of these closed early in Q1, and the vast majority of funds that did close post-lockdown were already in their late stages when Covid-19 hit. Unsurprisingly, only 12 vehicles were registered as having launched in H1, a low number compared with similar periods in previous years.

Nevertheless, a good number of French GPs (including industry stalwarts) are currently on the fundraising trail, with some hopeful to reach milestones before the end of the year. The following is a snapshot of notable fundraises currently underway, drawing on intelligence from the Unquote Data and Unquote.com platforms.

Buyout & generalist vehicles

Fund name	Fund manager	Vintage	Strategy	Target (€m)	Launch date	Latest update
Ardian Buyout Fund VII	Ardian	n/d	Upper mid-cap western European buyouts	6,000	Mar 2019	Ardian Buyout Fund VII was launched in March 2019 with a €6bn target and a €6.5bn hard-cap.
Apax France X	Apax Partners	2019	European mid-market buyouts	1,200	Mar 2019	Apax France X was launched in March 2019 with a target of €1.2bn and a hard-cap of €1.4bn. It had reached its target as of March 2020 but remains on the road.
Sagard IV	Sagard	2020	French mid-cap buyouts	800	Feb 2020	Sagard's fourth fund launched in Q1 2020 with an €800m target. It inked its first deal with Ceva Santé Animale in February 2020.
Ace Aero Partenaires	Ace Management	2020	Buyouts of businesses in the aerospace supply chain	1000	Jun 2020	In July 2020, Ace Management, a subsidiary of Tikehau Capital, held a first close of its fund Ace Aero Partenaires with capital commitments of €630m.
PAI Middle Market Buyout Fund	PAI Partners	2020	Mid-cap western European buyouts	600	Jan 2020	PAI Partners launched a new mid-market fund in order to complement its large-cap strategy, Unquote reported in January 2020. The fund has a planned target of €600m and will invest in companies with enterprise values in the €100-300m range.
Amundi Mégatendances II	Amundi Private Equity	2020	Growth capital and lower-mid-market buyouts	500	Dec 2019	The platform held a first close in late Q2, Unquote understands, although the amount raised so far remains undisclosed for the time being. The retail compartment of the fundraise will remain open until June 2021, while the institutional portion is open until the end of 2021 – although the fundraise will be closed if the hard-cap is reached before that.
Siparex ETI 5	Siparex Group	2020	French lower-mid-market buyouts	400	n/d	Siparex launched Siparex ETI 5 in early 2020 with a €400m target and €500m hard-cap. As of June, it planned to hold a first close before the end of 2020.
Omnes Croissance 5	Omnes Capital	2020	Growth capital and lower-mid-market buyouts	350	n/d	Unquote previously reported that the launch of the fifth Croissance mid-cap vehicle was planned for H2 2020, with a target of around €350m. The fund is now on the road, with a first close expected between Q4 and Q1 next year, Omnes told Unquote.
Sagard NewGen I	Sagard	2020	Lower-mid-market buyouts of European companies operating across the healthcare and technology sectors	300	Jul 2020	The fund was launched in July 2020 with a €300m target and held a first close just south of €150m in September, Unquote reported.
Cerea Capital III	Cerea Partners	n/d	Lower-mid-market buyouts in agri-food sector	250	n/d	Cerea Partners planned to launch its third buyout fund Cerea Capital III by the end of 2020, as reported by Unquote. The fund will have a target of €250m and hard-cap of €300m.
Essling Expansion Fund	Essling Capital	2019	Lower-mid-market buyouts of European companies operating across the healthcare and technology sectors	250	Feb 2018	The Essling Expansion Fund was launched in March 2018 and held a first close in February 2019 on €100m. A final close was initially pegged for Q3 2019 but was eventually pushed back. As of February 2020, the fund had collected around half of its €250m target and the hard-cap had been set at €300m, Unquote reported.
Activa Capital IV	Activa Capital	n/d	French lower-mid- market buyouts	200	n/d	Activa Capital registered its fourth buyout fund, Activa Capital IV, in March 2020. The GP is planning to raise €200m for the fund, which will focus on buy-and-build deals in France.
Sparring Capital Fund II	Sparring Capital	2019	French lower-mid-market buyouts	200	Jun 2019	Unquote reported that the vehicle has collected around two thirds of its target and is on track to close in the next six months, following a coronavirus-related delay.
Women Equity Partners Fund	Women Equity Partners	2020	Minority and majority stakes in female-led SMEs with EV of €20-200m	150	Jan 2020	Women Equity Partners Fund was launched in January 2020 with a target of $150m, and at the time targeted a final close by the end of 2020. The fund will invest for minority and majority stakes in female-led SMEs with EV of €20-200m.

 

Venture & growth capital

Fund name	Fund manager	Vintage	Strategy	Target (€m)	Launch date	Latest update
Eurazeo Growth Fund III	Eurazeo	2019	French series-C rounds and upwards	1000	Sep 2019	Eurazeo Growth Fund III held an interim close on €155m in December 2019. The fund was expected to reach a final close by the end of 2020, although the firm stated in May 2020 that it was anticipating fundraising delays of up to nine months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
BioDiscovery 6	Andera Partners	2020	Life sciences and medical devices venture, France and US	450	Jan 2020	BioDiscovery 6 was launched in early 2020. It has a target of €450m and is expected to hold a first close before year-end, Unquote understands.
Partech Growth II	Partech	2019	Technology venture	400	May 2019	As of May 2019, Partech's pan-European arm was on the trail for Partech Growth II, with a target of €400m. The GP registered the vehicle as a French SLP in April 2019.
Health for Life Capital II	Seventure	2019	Stage-agnostic venture, focus on microbiome sector	200	Jan 2019	Seventure Partners held a first close for its Health for Life Capital II fund in March 2019. Fundraising was still underway as of April 2020, having passed its initial €200m target, according to the GP.
Isai Venture III	Isai	2020	Digital-focused, early-stage venture	120	n/d	Isai initially expected to close the fund before the summer, but Unquote reported in May that the VC pushed that toward the end of Q3 or later in the year. The fund held a first close on €90m in May and has a €120m hard-cap.

 

Secondaries

Fund name	Fund manager	Vintage	Strategy	Target (€m)	Launch date	Latest update
Idinvest Secondary Fund IV	Idinvest Partners	2020	Small and mid-sized mature secondaries	600	Nov 2019	Idinvest Secondary Fund IV was launched in November 2019 with a €600m target.
Mantra Secondary Opportunities III	Mantra Investment Partners	2020	Secondaries	150	Jan 2020	Mantra Secondary Opportunities III fund was launched in January 2020 with a target of €150m and a hard-cap of €180m. A first close at half of the fund size was expected to be held in June 2020

 

Activa Capital, Cerea Partners, Essling Capital, Ardian and Mantra Investment Partners did not return requests for comment.

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