Triton on the road for Fund VI with EUR 5.5bn target

Harriet Matthews
10 February 2023

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European sponsor Triton has launched the fundraise for its latest flagship fund, Triton Fund VI, with a EUR 5.5bn target, a source familiar with the situation told Unquote.

The target is a modest step up from the amount that the GP raised for its predecessor vehicle. Triton Fund V held a final close in December 2018 on its EUR 5bn hard-cap after nine months on the road, surpassing its EUR 4bn target.

LPs in Triton V include US pension funds Washington State Investment Board (WSIB) and CalPERS, as well as private markets firms Argentum and Abrdn.

Triton VI will follow the same strategy as the sponsor's previous flagship vehicles, the same source said. This will see the GP typically deploy equity tickets of EUR 200m-EUR 500m, targeting growing niches in the industrial technology, healthcare, business services and consumer sectors.

Triton aims to invest in mid-market western European companies with enterprise values of EUR 400m-EUR 2bn. It seeks businesses that are facing issues or complexities that can be addressed in one to two years.

Triton expects the current cycle to yield opportunities for its strategy including take-privates, as reported.

The sponsor's funds have produced returns of 3.1x gross MOIC and 28% gross IRR over the course of various cycles, the source added. Triton V realised its earliest investment in 2022, selling industrial technology firm Ewellix (formerly known as SKF Motion Technologies) to trade for EUR 582m, generating MOIC of 4x after a four-year holding period.

The GP currently has a number of potential exits in its pipeline, including plastic hose specialist Norres, as reported by Mergermarket. Fresh acquisitions are also on the horizon, with the sponsor vying to acquire Finland-based construction business Caverion, having made a take-private offer following a bid for the asset by a consortium led by fellow sponsor Bain Capital.

In addition to its flagship mid-market strategy, Triton manages a smaller mid-cap strategy and a series of opportunistic credit funds.

Triton declined to comment.

[Editor's note: The second-to-last paragraph has been amended post-publication to note that Triton manages a series of opportunistic credit funds.]