Equistone Partners Europe Closes Fund VI at €2.8bn Hard Cap

LONDON, PARIS AND MUNICH, March 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Equistone Partners Europe Limited ("Equistone"), one of Europe's leading mid-market private equity investors, today announces the successful final closing of Equistone Partners Europe Fund VI ("EPEF VI") at its hard cap with total capital commitments of €2.8bn. Equistone completed the fundraising within four months of its launch in early November 2017. The Equistone team will also make a commitment to EPEF VI alongside the institutional investors.

Consistent with Equistone's established strategy, EPEF VI will invest in European buyouts valued between €50m and €500m, targeting well-positioned businesses in Western Europe with high-calibre management teams and strong growth potential. The fund attracted commitments from an enhanced base of 56 major institutional investors across Western Europe and the Nordic Region (accounting for 56% of capital raised), North America (28%), and the rest of the world (16%), including pension funds, funds of funds, sovereign wealth funds, and insurance companies. With existing investors in prior Equistone funds providing c.75% of the capital and the total number of investors growing almost 30% on its previous fund, Equistone has accommodated heightened demand while maintaining its long-standing commitment to rightsizing its funds relative to the market opportunity.

Guillaume Jacqueau, Managing Partner of Equistone Partners Europe, commented: "We're extremely pleased to have successfully completed the fundraising process for our sixth fund from a combination of new and existing institutional investors. This represents a further validation of Equistone's track record of generating attractive returns and our highly experienced team's proven ability to identify and partner with strong mid-market businesses across France, Germany, Switzerland, and the UK."

Christiian Marriott, Partner and Head of Investor Relations at Equistone, added: "To raise a fund in four months with an enhanced investor base is testament to both the continued support of our existing backers as well as Equistone's wider reputation among high-calibre institutions around the world. We have always sought to exercise discipline when raising funds to ensure that we're able to deploy our investors' capital as effectively as possible, and we're confident that we have the right-sized fund to keep successfully investing in our well-established target market."

Equistone has consistently deployed capital from its previous fund, Equistone Partners Europe Fund V, and continued to realise value from its portfolio during and prior to the fundraising process for EPEF VI, announcing nine investments and eight exits since January 2017. These included:

New Investments 

• The acquisition of Inspired Thinking Group, a UK-based technology-led provider of outsourced multichannel marketing services, from Bridgepoint Development Capital (October 2017);
• The acquisition of Bruneau, a leading, Paris-headquartered online retailer of office supplies and equipment, from Weinberg Capital Partners (October 2017);
• The acquisition of a majority stake of Group of Butchers, a Dutch producer of high-quality meat products, from Nordian Capital Partners (January 2017).

Recent Exits 

• The sale of Concept Life Sciences, a Manchester-headquartered provider of integrated drug discovery, development, analytical testing, and environmental consulting services to Spectris PLC at an enterprise value of £163 million, generating a money multiple of 2.7x and an IRR of 36% (January 2018);
• The sale of EuroAvionics, a global manufacturer of civil avionics systems based in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, to HENSOLDT, a spin-off of Airbus Group's Defence Electronics business (August 2017);
• The sale of Meilleurtaux, a leading French retail financial services broker, to Goldman Sachs, generating an exit multiple of 8.2x and a gross IRR of over c.70% (February 2017).

Evercore Private Funds Group advised Equistone on the fundraising and Clifford Chance acted as fund formation, tax, and regulatory counsel.

Notes to editors 

About Equistone Partners Europe 
Equistone is an independent investment firm wholly-owned and managed by its executives. The company is one of Europe's leading investors in mid-market buyouts with a strong, consistent track record spanning over 30 years, with more than 400 transactions completed in this period. Equistone has a strong focus on change of ownership deals and aims to invest between €25m and €125m of equity in businesses with enterprise values of between €50m and €500m. The company has a team of over 35 investment professionals operating across France, Germany, Switzerland and the UK, investing as a strategic partner alongside management teams.

Equistone is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Further information can be found at http://www.equistonepe.com.

For more information, please contact:

Zinka MacHale, Hawthorn Advisors
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +44(0)20-3745-4960

James Davey, Hawthorn Advisors
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +44(0)20-3745-4960