Xenon closes small-cap fund on €85m

Leonardo Bruzzichesi, previously a partner of Private Equity Partners, and Michelangelo Mantero, who previously was a partner of Vestar Capital Partners, have been appointed as general partners of Xenon Small Cap.

Xenon founding partner Danilo Mangano said: "With Xenon Small Cap we intend to invest in a segment less covered by other private equity players, which nevertheless offers attractive risk-return profiles. It is a section of the market full of promising opportunities, especially in the current phase, characterised by technology innovation and rapid development of business models."

This new vehicle will complement the strategy of Xenon's flagship fund, Xenon Private Equity VII, which targets larger deals and fosters build-up projects for its portfolio companies.

Xenon VII held a final close on €300m in November 2019. It deploys equity tickets in the €15-40m range in Italian mid-market companies generating revenues of €30-80m and EBITDA of €2-15m, with enterprise values of up to €100m. The fund will be around 60% deployed by the end of the year. 

Xenon has invested in more than 140 companies since its inception, targeting both buyouts and growth capital opportunities across Europe.

Investors
Xenon Small Cap attracted commitments from a wide base of LPs, primarily composed of international institutional investors, including several funds-of-funds and foundations.

Around 59% of the investors backing the fund come from continental Europe, while 32% are from the US. The remaining 9% are comprised of family offices and the fund's managers.

Investors include the European Investment Fund (EIF) and Fondo Italiano d'Investimento (FII), among others.

Investments
Xenon Small Cap is dedicated to investments in Italian companies generating EBITDA of up to €3m.

It has a special focus on businesses operating across innovative B2B services and developing proprietary industrial technologies.

It targets both majority and minority transactions, and plans to fuel the growth of its portfolio companies by supporting their product development and further technological advancement.

The fund has recently made its first investment and currently is in exclusive talks for two additional deals, which might be closed in the coming weeks.

People
Xenon Private Equity – Danilo Mangano, Franco Prestigiacomo (founding partners, co-CEOs).

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