Baring Vostok, the private equity firm founded in 1994, has completed the fundraising process for its fifth private equity fund, Baring Vostok Private Equity Fund V, as well as for its co-investment vehicle, Baring Vostok Fund V Supplemental Fund.

Fund V reached its hard cap of USD1.15bn of aggregate limited partners commitments.

Combined with the USD350m of additional limited partners commitments into the co-investment vehicle, both Fund V and Supplemental Fund V have raised over USD1.5bn in aggregate - the largest amount of private equity capital ever raised in Russia - to be primarily invested in unlisted shares of leading middle-market companies operating in Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union, with a focus on companies that are generally illiquid and difficult for investors outside of the region to access.

Fund V and Supplemental Fund V follow their predecessor funds, Baring Vostok Private Equity Fund IV and Baring Vostok Fund IV Supplemental Fund, which closed on limited partner commitments of USD1bn and USD300m in 2007, respectively. This compares with USD82m amassed for private-equity deals in Russia in the first half of this year and USD135m in 2011, according to data compiled by the Washington-based Emerging Markets Private Equity Association.

Fund V and the Supplemental Fund V have attracted significant interest from new institutional investors throughout North America, Europe, the Middle-East and Asia, while retaining the majority of existing Baring Vostok limited partners. UBS Investment Bank acted as sole global placement agent.