Sponsor Capital holds final close on €202m for fifth fund

The fund's total investment capacity, together with Sponsor Capital's partners' co-investment, is €216m.

The fund is slightly bigger than its predecessor, Sponsor Fund IV, which had a hard-cap of €200m and held final close in 2014.

The vehicle has made platform investments in Finnish companies such as assistive devices distributor Haltija, financial and HR software provider Accountor Group, household utility products manufacturer Orthex, motor vehicle product wholesaler Duell, and Herrmans Bike Components, a bicycle component manufacturer.

The GP said in a statement that despite fundraising during a challenging market situation, the fund exceeded its target size within the original schedule.

Borenius acted as legal adviser to the GP for the fundraise.

Investors
More than 80% of the fund's commitments came from LPs in prior Sponsor funds, with nearly 50% coming from investors that have backed all of Sponsor Capital's funds since 1997. 

The investor base consists of both Finnish and international institutional investors. According to the Unquote database, previous LPs include Keva, Ilmarinen, Varma, Elo, Nordea, Tesi, Mandatum Life, LGT Capital Partners and Access Capital Partners.

According to the GP's website, Finnish pension and insurance companies make up the biggest group of investors in its funds. 

Investment
The investment strategy for the new fund will be like that of its predecessors. The vehicle will acquire majority stakes in small and medium-sized Finnish companies with a turnover between €15-150m. Typical investment situations will include bolstering companies' growth and internationalisation, business restructurings, corporate spin-off situations, and generation shifts in family businesses.

The fund is expected to start investing in the first quarter of 2021.

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• Sponsor Capital