Avedon Capital Partners has held the final close of Avedon III at EUR300 million, substantially above the fund’s target of EUR250 million.
Avedon III investors comprise a combination of institutional investors (banks, insurance companies, pension funds, endowments, fund-of-funds), both from Europe and North America, as well as a group of senior executives, further strengthening Avedon’s network in its home markets.
Avedon III will continue the Firm’s successful strategy of investing in growing, niche market-leading companies, with revenues ranging between EUR25 million and EUR150 million, which are at an inflexion point in their development and are looking for a partner to support them in accelerating growth by providing both capital and expertise. Avedon’s value creation effort stands on two fundamental legs: (i) creating high-performing, sound companies; and (ii) fostering top-line growth. Avedon has developed a distinctive tool set and network to actively support portfolio companies and create robust, professionalised organisations. Moreover, the Firm will continue leveraging the expertise it has developed over time within its four preferred sectors: Business Services, Industrial Niches, Consumer & Leisure and Software & Technology.
The successful raise also marks a busy period of activity for the Firm, which recently completed the first three investments in Avedon III: BroNij / BWaste (combination of three complementary companies in the underground waste container business creating the market leader in the Netherlands with international growth potential), VisionsConnect / Viju (combination of a Dutch-based and a Norwegian-based services companies in the videoconference market, creating a leading global player) and Altendorf (German premium brand machine builder in the woodworking industry). All three investments were sourced wholly off-market directly from their owner founders. As Avedon III further bolsters the Firm’s ability to source high-quality investments, it continues to maintain an active pipeline of opportunities in its target markets.
Alfred Tulp, partner at Avedon Capital Partners, says: “Since the spinout in 2011 we have invested significantly in building a senior team, we have further institutionalised our sector approach, and we have expanded our support platform for company management by leveraging an ecosystem of trusted advissrs. That effort is now clearly paying off, as we are able to team up with exceptional entrepreneurs and management teams. The increased fund size gives us deeper pockets to invest more in our platform companies while staying in our sweet spot at the lower end of the mid-market.”
