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....
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.
more
Guest comment by Armando D’Amico. more
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 AdvisersArmando D’Amico / Dermot Crean +44 (0)20 7317 5850Equus GroupPiers Hooper / Sam Barton +44 (0)20 7223 1100Notes to editors: Acanthus 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).
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.
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
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.