Secondaries and mezzanine vehicles proving popular in 2012

While the overall number of fund launches has taken a step back in 2012 – down by a third compared to the first nine months of last year, according to unquote" data – both secondaries and mezzanine vehicles have held their ground.

Secondaries vehicles have accounted for 6.5% of all fund launches so far in 2012 (see chart above); this is up from 3.25% last year and 2.3% in 2010. Mezzanine funds have enjoyed a similar uptick, also accounting for 6.5% of new fundraising efforts compared to 2% in 2011 and 1.4% the year prior.

Secondaries funds launched this year include Idinvest's Secondary Fund, which held a €100m first close en route to a €200m target. Coller spinout Headway Capital also started marketing its third secondaries vehicle with an offering amount of around €280m.

French players made a significant contribution on the mezzanine side. Idinvest again launched a dedicated vehicle, aiming to raise €150m for its Private Value Europe fund. Other efforts included CIC Mezzanine Gestion holding a €63m first close for its third mezzanine fund, three months after launch; the GP is hoping to reach a €120m target.

Buyout funds, unsurprisingly, still represent the bulk of fresh fundraising efforts in 2012 – but the 20 vehicles launched so far only account for 32% of all new funds, against 42% last year. Growth capital vehicles retain a similar market share compared to 2011 (22.2% of all launches), while venture funds saw their contribution go up from 22% to 27%.

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• Topics
• Fundraising
• Secondaries
• Mezzanine
• Market Insight