FSI holds final close for mid-market fund on €1.4bn

Alessia Argentieri
04 March 2019

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FSI has held a final close for its FSI Mid-Market Growth Equity Fund on €1.4bn.

The fund held a first close on €1bn on 29 June 2017 after six months on the road, followed by a second close on slightly less than €1.2bn in December 2017 and a third close on €1.25bn in June 2018.

FSI was established as a spinout from Fondo Strategico Italiano in 2016, when the GP, which was 80% owned by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) and 20% by Banca d'Italia, split into two new entities: CDP Equity, which is wholly controlled by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, and FSI. As a result, FSI is now controlled by the firm's management, which owns 51% of the company, while Cassa Depositi e Prestiti holds 39.1%, and insurance company Poste Vita has a 9.9% stake.

Investors
The fund's LP base is composed of 22 Italian and institutional investors, including CDP, which committed €500m when the fund launched. Around 70% of the LP base is composed of Italian investors, while the remainder are international investors.

Of the fund's LPs, 18% are Italian institutional investors, including CDP, foundations and pension funds, which committed 39% of the capital raised. Around 9% are European asset managers and the European Investment Fund, which committed around 8% of the total capital.

Furthermore, 27% are Italian and European banks, 18% are Italian and European insurance companies and 14% are Italian and European family offices.

The remaining 14% is composed of three sovereign wealth funds: Kuwait Investment Authority, SOFAZ (State Oil Fund of Republic of Azerbaijan) and Singapore Sovereign Fund, which collectively committed 16% of the capital.

Investments
FSI Mid-Market Growth Equity Fund intends to make 12-15 investments in Italian companies with an annual turnover of between €100m-1bn, operating primarily in the industrial and financial technology industries. The vehicle will not invest in distressed companies, banks, insurance companies, real estate businesses, or unethical companies.

The fund invests between €80-200m to acquire primarily minority stakes and is open to co-investments, especially when deploying large equity tickets. It applies moderate leverage of less than 3x.

The fund has already deployed around a quarter of its capital across four companies: packaging specialist Lumson; fashion house Missoni; auto components producer Adler; and fintech business Cedacri.

People
FSI – Maurizio Tamagnini (CEO).