Cathay Capital has held a first close for Cathay Midcap II at EUR600 million. The fund, which is targeting EUR1.2 billion is backed by Cathay’s historical cornerstone LPs, China Development Bank (CDB) and Bpifrance, and a mix of sovereign funds, institutional investors and family offices.
Cathay Midcap II is also the first fund invested by the China-EU Co-investment Fund program, which was established by the European Investment Fund and the Silk Road Fund for the purpose of developing synergies between the Investment Plan for Europe and China’s Belt and Road Initiative .
The Fund was officially launched at the beginning of this year with the signing of a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding between CDB, Bpifrance and Cathay Capital, during French President Macron’s official visit in China. Thanks to Cathay Capital’s successful investment strategy and track record, the first closing of Cathay Midcap II was completed within a few months.
Following the strategy of its predecessor fund, Cathay Midcap II will support mid-cap companies with a high potential for growth and value creation as well as a capability to expand internationally. This new investment vehicle will continue to focus on its core geographies – China, Europe (mainly France and Germany), and to a smaller extent North America. Targeted sectors will include those with high cross-border synergies between China and the West that stand out in terms of sustainable growth potential, such as healthcare, high-end industries, consumer goods and business services.
Mingpo Cai, President and founder of Cathay Capital, says: “This new investment vehicle will leverage Cathay Capital’s expertise accumulated over the past decade to help hidden champions in their international acceleration to become world-class leaders and to create superior returns for investors. We thank our historical LPs for their continued support and trust, and welcome new LPs in joining the Cathay ecosystem.”
Cathay Midcap II is expected to commence investing in the second half of 2018 and complete its final closing by the first half of 2019.
