Ventizz Capital Partners has announced the closing of Ventizz Capital Fund IV with EUR450m of total commitments, making the fund one of the largest private equity vehicles for German-speak
Ventizz Capital Partners has announced the closing of Ventizz Capital Fund IV with EUR450m of total commitments, making the fund one of the largest private equity vehicles for German-speaking Europe.
Raised in approximately six months, the fund closed above its initial EUR350m target and was more than 50 per cent over-subscribed at its final closing. The investment advisers to the fund are Ventizz Private Equity in St Gallen and Ventizz Capital Partners Advisory in Düsseldorf.
The fund will aim to continue the strategy of its predecessors of executing primarily control growth buyout investments of small- to medium-sized high-growth high value-added industrial businesses, with headquarters or substantial operations principally in German-speaking Europe.
It seeks to invest in companies where a key characteristic of their business model, such as product, technology or process, provides a fundamental advantage versus competitors. The fund focuses on well-established companies, typically with revenues of between EUR10m and EUR100m.
Ventizz is led by partners Dr Helmut Vorndran, Reinhard Löchner, and Willi Mannheims, who have considerable experience operating within their target markets as owners, managers, management consultants and investors, and are supported by a team of six other investment professionals.
‘We are extremely pleased with the level of support the fund has received from both existing and new investors,’ Vorndran says. ‘We believe this reflects the strong platform since the inception of the first fund advised by Ventizz Capital Partners in 2000, the strength of our portfolio and track record as well as the outstanding opportunity in German-speaking Europe for an investor with strategic focus.’
The fund was backed by a blue-chip list of more than 30 investors, with support within the German-speaking region (15 per cent), the rest of Europe (30 per cent), and internationally (55 per cent, while 35 per cent of investment came from funds of funds, 21 per cent from university endowments and foundations, 14 per cent from pension funds, 13 per cent from corporates and 12 per cent by banks and insurance companies.
Given the significant step-up in size from Ventizz’s previous fund, new investors constituted a significant portion of the commitments. Credit Suisse acted as placement agent and financial advisor, while Latham & Watkins acted as legal advisor to the fund and Ogier advised on Jersey law matters.
Based in St. Gallen and Düsseldorf, Ventizz Capital Partners was established in 2000 to advise funds investing in buyouts and growth equity of small and medium-sized hi-tech companies, primarily in German-speaking Europe. The firm’s three partners are currently advising four funds with total capital of more than EUR 650m.
To date, funds advised by Ventizz have invested in 31 companies with a special focus in renewable energy, high value-added engineering, medical technology and information and communications technology. In addition to various trade sales, Ventizz Funds have achieved three successful IPOs.
