Gradiente SGR has held the first closing of its second private equity fund, Gradiente II with total capital commitments in excess of EUR60 million. The Fund has a target of EUR120 million and is backed by a group of Italian and international investors.
Gradiente was established in 2009 by Pietro Busnardo with the backing of Italian banking foundations to focus on the Italian lower-mid cap segment. Today the Fund has a team of seven professionals, which includes three Partners: Pietro Busnardo, Carlo Bortolozzo and Fabrizio Grasso. The Fund will continue the successful strategy of Gradiente I and will target export-oriented businesses that are market leaders in attractive sectors and where Gradiente sees an opportunity to achieve substantial capital appreciation from three primary value drivers: growth, performance efficiency and strategic repositioning.
Pietro Busnardo, CEO of Gradiente, says: “We would like to thank our existing investors, for their continued support which has allowed us to reach a first closing less than two months after launching the Fund. We are very happy to welcome our new investors on board and are targeting a final close in the first quarter of 2018. Our pipeline looks stronger than ever, and we expect to start deploying the Fund in the very short term.
Elm Capital is acting as the exclusive placement agent for the Fund.
