CataCap hits first close on DKK 500m

Karin Wasteson
23 January 2013

Tweet
Facebook
LinkedIn
Google plus
Send to

Danish GP CataCap has raised DKK 500m at first close for its maiden buyout fund, which is focused on backing local SMEs.

Fundraising started in December 2011. The target sits between €100m and a €130m hard-cap. The fund has a 10-year lifetime and is based in Copenhagen. Management fees, carry and hurdle were described as typical for a fund of this type.

CataCap is already working towards a second closing. The final close will take place by the end of the year, depending on demand and investor sentiment.

The partners toured local and international investors for 6-8 months to raise capital. Since it is a maiden fund and first-time team, CataCap was advised to secure local anchoring for the first-time close.

The firm hasn't used a placing agent yet. For the second and final closing, CataCap is considering placing agents on a case by case basis to target specific investors, the GP told unquote".

CataCap is the first fund the partners will be managing as a team. Vilhelm Hahn-Petersen is an ex-partner at Axcel and all three founders have previous investment experience.

Accura provided legal and tax advice. Ernst & Young provided financial advice.

Investments
CataCap invests in Danish SMEs that hold a significant development potential and have an innovative business model with long-term sustainability. The fund's general strategy will focus on operational leverage.

The fund will start investing as soon as possible. CataCap will target businesses valued in the DKK 50-500m EV range. The fund will invest a minimum of DKK 50m in overall equity per platform (which could be made up of one or more individual transactions). The maximum equity stake will sit between DKK 100m (applicable to a DKK 500m fund) and DKK 200m (applicable to a DKK 1bn fund).

CataCap plans to make between one and two platform investments per year, for a total of 7-10 investments across the fund's lifetime. There are a number of deals in the pipeline and the fund expects to close its first investment in Q2 2013. Around 25% of the total commitments will be held back for follow-on rounds.

Investors
In addition to the three CataCap founding partners, the group of core investors includes large Danish institutional investors Dansk Vækstkapital, Danica Pension and Lægernes Pensionskasse (Medical Doctors' Pension Fund), which provided DKK 100m each, as well as a number of private investors.

Institutional investors make up 90% of the LP base. Danica and Lægernes Pensionskasse have each invested 20% of total first close commitment. Two other pension funds provided 20% each. CataCap's own funding amounted to 6% and private investors contributed 4%.

Investors are solely Denmark-based so far. CataCap will now be targeting investors in UK and Switzerland ahead of the second closing.

People
Vilhelm Hahn-Petersen, Jens Hahn-Petersen and Peter Ryttergaard are co-founders and partners at CataCap.