Astorg V reaches hard cap at over €1 billion

Astorg Partners has successfully closed its latest vehicle Astorg V, a private equity fund dedicated to European mid‐market buyouts, at its hard cap of €1.05 billion, which is approximately 30% above the €800 million target announced at the fund's launch in September 2010.

Investors were attracted to Astorg based on the following key factors:

• strong track record over several investment cycles;
• investment strategy aligned with the current environment: primarily investments in family‐owned companies, benefitting from leading positions in niche global markets and diversified international revenue streams, funded with moderate leverage levels;
• experienced investment team with diverse and complementary backgrounds, who are significantly involved alongside portfolio company management teams;
• culture of transparency in investor relations, providing comprehensive and high quality financial information.
  Astorg V received commitments from 44 institutional investors, of which 25 are new investors to Astorg , including: pension funds (34% vs 19% in Astorg IV), fund of funds (18% vs 30% in Astorg IV), insurance companies (18% vs 27% in Astorg IV), and sovereign wealth funds (10% vs none in Astorg IV).
• European investors still represent slightly more than half of the investor base (55% vs 84% in Astorg IV, and only 11% from France), the proportion of North American investors has increased significantly (27% vs 16% in Astorg IV), and new investors from Asia now represent 18% of the investor base, the first time Astorg has had investors from Asia.

Thierry Timsit, Managing Partner at Astorg Partners, commented "We are very pleased about the outcome of this fast and efficient fundraising process. The success of the Astorg V offering represents a true endorsement from our existing and new limited partners, and we are grateful for their trust. It is a great reward for all the members of the Astorg team, who work hard to make sound investment decisions in a highly competitive environment and endeavor to create value in our portfolio companies alongside their management teams. With a strengthened and well‐ organized team, we are in a good position to seize exciting investment opportunities driving the current investment cycle."