Advent International has completed fundraising for Advent International GPE VIII Limited Partnership (GPE VIII), reaching its hard cap of USD13 billion (EUR12 billion) after six months in the market.
Advent’s previous global fund, GPE VII, closed on USD10.8 billion (EUR8.5 billion) in 2012.
GPE (Global Private Equity) VIII will pursue the same strategy as its predecessor funds, investing in buyouts, recapitalisations and growth equity transactions, primarily in Europe and North America and selectively in other regions such as Asia and Latin America. The Fund will focus on five industry sectors in which Advent has significant experience and knowledge: business and financial services; healthcare; industrial; retail, consumer and leisure; and technology, media and telecom.
Across its target sectors and regions, Advent will seek to invest in well-positioned companies with the potential for further operational improvement and partner with management teams to create value through revenue and earnings growth.
“We are pleased with the strong support we received from both existing and new investors,” says David Mussafer, a Managing Partner at Advent International in Boston. Mussafer is one of 14 Managing Partners at Advent. “We believe that our success is a result of our long-established sector focus, global footprint and network, private partnership model, and the significant operational resources and expertise we apply to our investments. This solid foundation positions us well to continue to find and build successful businesses around the world.”
GPE VIII will be invested by a team of more than 130 investment professionals across Europe, North America and Asia. These individuals can leverage the expertise and networks of additional professionals from Advent’s Latin American Private Equity Fund (LAPEF) program, which focuses on investments throughout Latin America.
“Our global team is one of the largest and most experienced in the private equity industry,” says Ralf Huep, a Managing Partner at Advent International in Frankfurt. “This platform allows us to generate a broad set of opportunities, invest selectively in the most compelling businesses and drive operational improvement and growth to create value.”
“GPE VIII received commitments from a diverse base of institutional investors across the globe,” says Johanna Barr, a Managing Director and Global Co-Head of Limited Partner Services at Advent International in London. “Approximately 90% of the committed capital came from limited partners in Advent’s prior funds, with the remaining commitments provided by a select number of new investors.”
“We are fortunate to have a large, loyal group of investors and greatly appreciate their support in making this a successful fundraising,” says Robert Weaver, a Managing Director and Global Co-Head of Limited Partner Services at Advent International in New York. “We will work to earn their continued commitment by maintaining our focus on value creation.”
