Advent Tech II closes on USD 4bn

Harriet Matthews
09 December 2021

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Advent International has held a final close for Advent Global Technology Fund II on its hard-cap of USD 4bn, surpassing its USD 3bn target.

Advent Global Technology II was registered in Luxembourg in March 2021, according to Unquote Data. The fundraise took six months, the GP said in a statement.

Advent's technology-focused strategy is managed by a team of 27 people in its offices in Palo Alto, New York, Boston and London. Its technology team also makes tech investments for the GP's flaghip strategy via its large-cap USD 17.5bn Global Private Equity IX (GPE IX) vehicle, the GP said in a statement.

Its predecessor fund in the tech strategy, Advent Global Technology, held a final close in September 2019 on USD 2bn, surpassing its USD 1.6bn target. The fund backed 20 companies during its investment period and was expected to invest around 75% of its capital alongside Advent's flagship fund.

Advent registered the next fund in its flagship strategy, GPE X, in February 2021, according to Unquote Data.

Advent is one of several US sponsors that manage a technology-focused strategy in addition to their flagship funds, and several of its peers have registered similar vehicles in 2021. Fellow US sponsor Carlyle Group has raised a series of technology-focused funds; it registered its latest vehicle, Carlyle Europe Technology Partners V, in October 2021, according to Unquote Data. Meanwhile, KKR registered KKR Next Generation Technology Growth Fund III (NGT III) in August 2021.

Investors
LPs in the vehicle include institutional investors such as public and corporate pension funds, endowments, foundations, family offices, sovereign wealth funds, funds-of-funds and insurance companies, according to a statement. More than 90% of the capital committed to the fund is from existing investors.

According to Unquote Data, institutions backing the fund include the Virginia Retirement System (VRS), which has made a USD 25m commitment.

Investments
Advent Global Technology Fund II will target the same strategy as its predecessor, investing in software, data and cybersecurity companies, with a focus on high-growth businesses and complex transformation opportunities, the GP said in a statement.

Although the GP also makes technology investments via its flagship fund, the investments made from its technology-focused strategy are smaller, starting from USD 50m onwards. The strategy can deploy more than USD 2bn per deal alongside Advent GPE IX; like its predecessor vehicle, the fund can invest in deals alongside Advent's flagship strategy.

The fund makes both growth and majority deals, and has made four investments to date, including co-leading a consortium in its USD 14bn acquisition of US-headquartered McAfee in November 2021.

People
Advent International – Bryan Taylor (managing partner, head of Advent Technology); David Mussafer, James Brocklebank (managing partners, co-chairs of Advent's executive committee); Eric Wei, Lauren Young (managing directors).