Top 5 final closes of 2012 so far

Private equity fundraising has probably never been more competitive and the current fundraising season could make or break many players. Despite the difficult investment environment, many European top players have reached a final close this year. Let's take a look at the industry's biggest successes.

ISIS V

ISIS has had a pretty spectacular 12 months, reaping a 15x return on its sale of Wiggle at the end of last year, quickly followed up with the launch and final close of its fifth fund, its second since becoming an independent firm, on £360m.

Impressive exits such as Wiggle no doubt helped the firm to close the fund within just two months of announcing it in February, raising over £100m more than its predecessor fund. Fund V will continue the previous fund's investment strategy, targeting UK businesses valued in the £20-75m range.

DBAG VI

DBAG's sixth fund raised €700m to reach its hard-cap in just four months. Announced in May, the firm had already hit €450m by July before confirming its final close €50m above its target in August. The Germany-based fund manager's previous fund closed at €539m in 2006.

The fund will invest in mid-market German industrial companies with a preference for mechanical engineering, plant construction and automotive supplies.

Arcano Secondary Fund I

Reflecting the growing popularity of secondaries, our third-place fund is fund-of-funds manager Arcano's first dedicated secondaries fund, which closed at target on €700m in March this year after a six-month fundraising period.

Interestingly, the Spain-based fund manager raised exclusively from foreign investors, though it is unknown if this was due to the tough public debt situation currently facing the country. The fund will target secondary stakes in private equity funds, looking to capitalise on banks and insurance company disposals.

Coller International Partners VI

Another secondary fund reaches second place and dwarfs previous funds in our top five. Coller closed its sixth vehicle on $5.5bn, breaking its $5bn target. The fund had been raising since January 2011 and closed in July this year.

The fund has already committed some $800m, an indicator of just how many secondary opportunities currently exist. It has a wide investment remit, able to invest from as little as $1m and up to $1bn in secondary fund opportunities.

BC European Capital IX

However, Europe's number one fund close of 2012 is BC European Capital IX. The UK-based firm's ninth fund raised a massive €6.5bn, breaking its €6bn target to hit its hard-cap. Despite some difficult investments for the firm in recent years it has clearly continued to convince LPs of its investment strategy.

The biggest fundraise of 2012 also had the longest fundraising period. BC Partners first announced the vehicle in September 2010. It went on to hold a first close at €4bn in March 2011, eventually reaching final close in February this year.

The fund will continue with its predecessor's investment strategy, targeting European buyouts in the mid- to large-cap space.

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• Topics
• Fundraising
• Funds
• L Capital Management
• ISIS Equity Partners
• Coller Capital
• BC Partners