CAPZA has held the final closing of its CAPZA 5 Private Debt fund above its target with an investment capacity of EUR1.6 billion, exceeding the final closing of the previous fund (EUR950 million).
This fifth vintage will finance SMEs with an EBITDA of more than EUR12 million through unitranche and mezzanine debt mainly in France, Spain and Germany. The investment strategy remains focused on resilient and non-cyclical business models (healthcare, tech, etc).
CAPZA’s Private Debt teams have regularly demonstrated an ability to deploy capital without compromising on deal quality, supported by a team of seven European-based associate directors benefitting from 26 years of experience on average. The CAPZA 5 Private Debt fund has already committed 75 per cent of its investment capacity to date to companies that have demonstrated great resilience in the context of the Covid crisis.
Since 2004, CAPZA’s Private Debt teams have led more than 100 transactions, including most recently Questel (leader in intellectual property software), MVG (cutting-edge tech actor in the field of electromagnetic waves visualisation), Sterimed (world’s leading manufacturer of medical sterilisation packaging), and IC Consult (leader in identity and access management solutions) in Germany.
Given the speed of deployment, a sixth fund is being prepared in line with the previous vintages, and with an even stronger ESG approach supported by CAPZA’s 5 years of experience in ESG analysis for private debt.
“We are very grateful to our historical investors for their renewed confidence, and to the new LPs who have invested in an unprecedented context. Our ambition is to continue the international diversification of our LP base over the next vintage,” says Laurent Bénard, CEO of CAPZA.
“The success of this round confirms the relevance of our investment thesis, aimed at avoiding default and investing in robust companies in resilient sectors at a European scale, without compromising on credit documentation or the level of leverage,” adds Guillaume de Jongh, Private Debt Partner at CAPZA.
“The crisis is unfortunately not over, and in this context, a disciplined approach to sector allocations remains key. CAPZA’s long-standing expertise in the healthcare and tech sectors – which represent 74 per cent of the last two Private Debt vintages – and the proximity of our team with the Private Equity Funds and the management teams of participations, is key to deploying the fund in the best conditions for our investors,” concludes Jean-Marc Fiamma, Private Debt Partner at CAPZA.
