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LP-GP Survey 2011
30 Nov 2011

As European private equity heads into one of the most decisive years in its history for fundraising, new Acanthus research reveals that the relationship between LPs and GPs remains as challenging as ever.... 

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The fundraising bottleneck - Real Deals
17 Nov 2011

Armando D’Amico chaired a panel entitled ’How to find a short cut to the land of plenty in a cash-constrained world’ at the Real Deals European Mid Market 2011 conference in Paris.

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Fundraising: separating winners from the losers - Private Equity News
22 Aug 2011

Guest comment by Armando D’Amico.
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Acanthus Advisers named Placement Agent of the Year
14 Apr 2011

Acanthus Advisers, a leading independent advisory firm focused on private equity fund placement, last night won the Placement Agent of the Year award at the 10th annual European Private Equity Awards, held by Real Deals.

The firm clinched the award, which was judged by a distinguished panel of industry professionals, ahead of competition from BerchWood Partners, Campbell Lutyens, Credit Suisse, MVision and UBS.

The judges praised Acanthus for remaining committed to the European mid-market, at a time when many others were forced to look further afield in search of opportunities. During 2010 the firm raised no fewer than five funds - for Perceva Capital, Impax, Finatem, Polaris and NextStage - totalling close to €1 billion, making Acanthus by far the most active independent mid-market placement agent.

The Real Deals’ Private Equity Awards, now in their 10th year, are the highest accolade in the European private equity industry, judged by a panel of peers - this year including Jon Moulton of Better Capital, Robin Hall of Cinven, Sir Trevor Chinn of CVC and Margaret Chamberlain of Travers Smith - and awarded based on performance alone.

Armando D’Amico, Managing Partner at Acanthus, commented:

"We are delighted to have won this prestigious honour ahead of a field of high-quality competitors. It is a testimony to our approach that, in the most challenging market conditions, we have raised five funds, demonstrating our bespoke service and the expertise of our team, but just as importantly, the quality of our clients."

Dermot Crean, Managing Partner at Acanthus, commented:

"As fundraising continues to prove challenging this year, we believe that more than ever our clients benefit from a combination of clear focus, deep experience and owner-led persistence, and we are very lucky to work alongside some of the most dedicated, hard-working GPs in the market."


-ENDS-

For more information:

Acanthus Advisers
Armando D’Amico / Dermot Crean 
+44 (0)20 7317 5850

Equus Group
Piers Hooper / Sam Barton
+44 (0)20 7223 1100


Notes to editors:

Ac
anthus Advisers (www.acanthus.eu.com) was established in 1998 with a sole focus and core specialty of raising European mid-market funds, supported by extensive research. The firm has been active in the private equity market longer than most private equity firms.

Acanthus provides incisive and complete advice to clients based on in-depth analysis and the close involvement of experienced professionals. At Acanthus we relish the opportunity to work with ambitious management teams who appreciate the added value of high-quality advice combined with commitment and drive.

During 2010 alone Acanthus closed five funds totalling €1 billion, one of which was awarded "Fundraising of the Year" by the Swedish Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (SVCA).


Final closing of France Special Situations I at €150m
28 Jan 2011

Acanthus Advisers is pleased to announce that Perceva Capital has achieved a very successful final closing of "France Special Situations I", smashing the €125 million target and hitting the hardcap of €150 million.

Perceva was set up in 2007 as a distressed specialist and aims to acquire weakened small and medium sized companies through equity investments and turnaround their operations. France Special Situations I has attracted commitments from over a dozen institutional investors across the globe. This success is an endorsement of Perceva’s differentiated strategy and restructuring expertise.


UK renewable fund in €275m third close
10 Jan 2011

Impax Asset Management Group, the London-listed fund manager, has announced a third close of its New Energy Investors II renewable energy fund on €275m. The fund is aiming for a final total between €300m and €400m.

Impax Asset Management Group (Impax), the London-listed environmental investment specialist, has announced the third close of its New Energy Investors II (NEF II) renewable energy fund on €275 million.

The fund posted a second close on €259 million in November last year and has since added €16 million from a German fund of funds manager and a UK pension fund, neither of which have been named.  

Impax is aiming to achieve a final closing of the fund on between €300 million and €400 million sometime this year.

Speaking of changing investor sentiment, Impax managing director Peter Rossbach said: "Investor interest was at the bottom in 2009, moved up in the first half of 2010, and was then coping with volatility in the second half of 2010. We hope there will be new budgets and new commitments in 2011 and a settling of investors’ comfort levels."

NEF II invests mainly in the wind and solar sectors in the European Union. It is the successor to NEF I, which closed on €125 million in 2006.

Rossbach said that, going forward, the fund was likely to prioritise the wind sector, given the furore surrounding the Spanish government’s proposal to revise its tariff regime, which could have a devastating effect on equity and debt investments. Spain is easily Europe’s largest solar market.

NEF II recently completed the acquisition of the German and French wind development and operating assets of Conergy, the Hamburg-based solar company. The deal gave the fund 23 megawatts of existing wind farms and a further 285 megawatts in development in France and 93 megawatts in development in Germany.

Source: Infrastructure Investor, 8 January 2011   


First closing of Polaris Private Equity III at €275 million
21 Apr 2009
Polaris launching third private equity fund
• Polaris Private Equity III will have commitments of more than EUR 275m at first closing
• A significant number of new, international investors joining Polaris’ existing group of investors
• Investment strategy unchanged with focus on Sweden and Denmark

Polaris Private Equity (“Polaris”) announces the first closing of a new private equity fund (“Fund III”) with initial commitments of more than EUR 275m that will invest in small and medium-sized industrial and service sector businesses based in Denmark and Sweden.

The commitments for Polaris Private Equity III are being provided by the existing group of investors, including A.P. Moller Maersk, Danske Bank and ATP Private Equity Partners. In addition, a number of new Danish investors are backing the new fund, including Salling Fonden, FIH, Primo Holding and C.L. Davids Fond og Samling and a number of international investors including Pohjola Private Equity Funds (Finland), Alliance Trust Equity Partners (Scotland), the private equity arm of Alliance Trust PLC, a FTSE-100 company and the largest listed investment trust in the UK by market capitalisation, ACG Private Equity (France), Parvilla (France) and Euro Private Equity (Switzerland).

“The strong support for our new fund from both new and existing investors is testament to Polaris and our entire team for the investment strategy we have pursued and the results we have achieved with Fund I and Fund II. It shows confidence in our business model – even during the current quite challenging times,” says Erik G. Hansen, chairman of Polaris Management. more

First closing of NextStage Champion Small Cap II at €61 million
30 Jan 2009

NextStage, the leading independent French growth equity firm, announces the successful first closing of Champion Small Cap II at €61 million, over half the size of the fund’s target of €120 million. The first closing has been achieved in less than six months from launch and despite a deteriorating fundraising environment. Interest from both existing and new investors has been strong. Commitments have come from highly regarded French institutional investors and family offices, including Groupe Artémis, the financial holding of Francois Pinault.

Since 2002, NextStage has focused on backing exceptional entrepreneurs to create global niche market leaders. NextStage has developed a unique sourcing network allowing them to identify growing companies operating in niche markets and with the potential to become leaders in their markets via geographical expansion, buy and build and integration of innovation. With little or no leverage, NextStage typically acquires controlling positions in companies with enterprise values below €30 million where the founding entrepreneur holds a significant stake.

NextStage has invested in, among others, the following companies: Alyotech, Nessink, Gruau, First STPI, Aasset and Alpiski.

Acanthus Advisers is acting as financial adviser and placement agent to NextStage. Ashurst is acting as legal and tax adviser to NextStage.

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Acanthus releases its fourth annual survey of LP-GP relations
01 Oct 2008

Acanthus has published its fourth annual survey of LP-GP relations covering responses from 274 institutional LPs and GPs around the world. This is the most successful yet, raising nearly€3,000 for the European Venture Philantrophy Association (www.evpa.eu.com).

The information gathered has been invaluable in gauging theLP-GP alignment and has raised several key points:

  • Two thirds of LPs and GPs felt relations could be significantly improved
  • LPs increasingly question the fairness of terms and conditions, particularly as the balance of power is now shifting back towards the limited partners
  • Both sides continue to overestimate the quality of their communications
  • The credit crunch and the deteriorating economic landscape are putting more strain on the relations
  • There was evidence of more friction between LPs and GPs with funds larger than €1bn

  • The full report is available here:
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    Egeria hits hard cap at €500 million with third fund
    16 Jul 2008

    Egeria, the leading independent Dutch mid-market buyout firm, has raised its third fund (Egeria III) at its hard cap of €500 million in its first closing. Interest from both existing and new investors was strong and the new fund was considerably oversubscribed. Commitments came from highly regarded Dutch and international institutions and family offices including investors from North America and Europe.

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    Successful close on €270m for J Hirsch's fourth fund.
    01 May 2008
    Acanthus acted as adviser and placement agent for the Italian mid market private equity group.

    Final close at £235m for ISIS Equity Partners' fourth fund
    15 Nov 2007

    ISIS Equity Partners has held a final closing of its fourth fund,ISIS IV LLP on £235m, well above the original target of £200m. Commitments have been made by a number of highly regarded institutional investors and the ISIS team have also committed a further 1.5%, taking the final fund total to £238.5m.

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    First and final close at €200 million for I2 Capital Partners
    26 Jul 2007
    I2 Capital, a leading investment firm in Italy, today announces the final close of I2 Capital Partners Fund at €200 million against a target of €180 million. Commitments have been made by a variety of highly regarded investors from Europe and North America including pension funds, fund of funds and family offices. more

    Krokus announces final close for Nova Polonia Natexis II Private Equity Fund
    20 Jun 2007

    Krokus Private Equity today announces the final close of its Nova Polonia Natexis II Private Equity Fund at €100 million against a target of €75 million. Commitments have been made by a variety of international investors, including Natixis Private Equity, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, InvestKredit, Suomi Mutual Life Assurance Company and Amanda Capital.

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    Krokus Private Equity announces first close for Nova Polonia Natexis II Private Equity Fund
    23 Nov 2006
    Krokus Private Equity todayannounced the first close of its latest fund, Nova Polonia Natexis II Private Equity Fund at €52 million against a target of €75 million. Commitments have been made by Natexis Private Equity, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, InvestKredit and one other investor. more