Ace Capital raises EUR 175m for cybersecurity fund

The fund held a first close on EUR 80m in June 2019 and went on to exceed its EUR 150m target. According to Ace, this makes it the largest fund dedicated to cybersecurity in Europe.

The process was reportedly started in early 2018, as previously reported by Unquote. The vehicle's predecessors, evergreen funds Brienne I and II, had nearly EUR 50m in assets under management in the defence and cybersecurity fields at the time.

Ace Capital Partners (formerly Ace Management) has been a subsidiary of Tikehau Capital since 2018. It specialises in raising thematic funds focusing on specific strategic industries and technologies, ranging from aerospace to cybersecurity. It now has more than EUR 1bn in assets under management.

The firm is in the process of raising the aerospace-focused Ace Aero Partenaires fund, with a EUR 1bn target. The fund was formally launched in July 2020 with a EUR 630m first close, and is dedicated to supporting the aerospace sector in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. As of January this year, it had raised a further EUR 100m from Crédit Agricole, its regional subsidiaries and LCL. The vehicle is backed by institutional investors, aerospace corporates and the French state.

Investors
According to Unquote Data, LPs in the fund include BPI France, the Nouvelle Aquitaine Region, Naval Group, EDF and Sopra Steria. Ace declined to comment further on the LP base.

Investments
The fund targets venture and growth capital investments for European businesses with a cybersecurity and digital trust focus.

It will make 15-20 investments overall, deploying between EUR 10m and EUR 20m per investment (although it can invest smaller tickets for some venture investments).

The fund has already deployed approximately EUR 50m across nine companies based in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal. These include Jscrambler, Dust Mobile, Preligens, Égérie, Trustinsoft, Quarkslab, EcclecticIQ and Glimps.

Ace said that its deployment accelerated following a "dramatic increase" in the number and impact of cyber threats since the fund launch. 

People
Ace Capital Partners – Marwan Lahoud (executive chair).

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• Topics
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• ACE Management
• Tikehau Capital
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