Montezemolo holds first close for third fund on €400m

The total is €100m shy of the vehicle's €500m target, with the GP aiming for a final close in June 2016. Montezemolo stated it had originally set itself a first-close target of €250m.

Charme III's predecessor held its final close in 2009 on €340m and has thus far generated returns of 2.4x.

The GP stated the fund will be run by the same management team that led its previous vehicles.

Investors
Montezemolo stated all its existing LPs had committed capital to Charme III, as well as the Montezemolo family and three new investors. According to Italian publication Milano Finanza, these include Hong Kong investors Sam Li and Silas Chou, as well as the Vacchi family, which owns packaging company Ima.

In total, around 60% of commitments in the vehicle came from international LPs.

Investments
Unlike its predecessors, which focused on Italy-based companies, Charme III will target European businesses with market leadership positions and potential for international expansion. It will make investments across a variety of sectors in companies with valuations of between €100-500m.

The vehicle is likely to seek out companies with high-profile brand names, strong intellectual property portfolios and those that have developed their own in-house technologies.

Montezemolo's second fund focused on buyout transactions, including co-investments. In 2010, the GP bought a 60% stake in Octo Telematics alongside Amadeus and Keensight, which it sold to Russia's Renova Group for €405m in February 2014. The business had increased EBITDA from €35m to €100m under the GPs' tenure and generated 3.7x returns for Charme.

People
Matteo di Montezemolo, son of Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo, is CEO of Montezemolo. Luigi Sala is president and Tommaso Beolchini is a senior partner at the firm.

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