Equita, an independent Italian investment bank, has held an additional closing of Equita Private Debt Fund II (EPD II), the PIR compliant Italian closed-end fund managed by Equita Capital SGR.
The new phase of EPD II’s fundraising closed with EUR31.5 million of commitments and involved four institutional investors, including a leading Italian insurance company and a major domestic pension fund. New investors’ commitments added to the EUR100 million raised in September 2020, allowing Equita to confirm EPD II’s target of EUR200 million (EUR250 million hard cap).
Andrea Vismara, Chief Executive Officer at Equita, says: “We are pleased that additional outstanding investors, including a major pension fund, have chosen to invest in our initiative, taking us closer to our set target of Euro 200 million. These new commitments strengthen the investor base of our second private debt fund and prove that private debt is an attractive asset class.”
In addition to the fundraising, Equita continues its deal sourcing. The team has already identified three new, potential investments that could further accelerate the capital deployment of EPD II over the course of 2021, with significant benefits in terms of returns for investors. To date – six months after the first closing – EPD II has already completed four investments (Euro 42 million, 32 per cent of current commitments) with an expected gross return of 10 per cent, and this confirms Equita’s strong position in the private debt market and the team’s ability to identify and successfully execute investments, also in a challenging environment.
