CAM takes European mid-market to America(2)

CAM Private Equity, a German-based fund of funds manager, is raising a fund that will meet North American institutional demand for access to European mid-market buyout funds, according to one limited partner.

A potential investor in the new fund told PEO that CAM was talking to a number of North American pension funds and endowments looking to diversify their investments in Europe, and receiving an enthusiastic reception.

The fund, which has a target of €250 million with a hard cap of €400 million, is expected to hold a first close in the next couple of weeks, she said.

The offering would be a departure for CAM, whose investor base for its previous offerings has been largely drawn from German-speaking countries in Europe.

CAM declined to comment on the fundraising, but the firm has been stepping up its international activity recently. Earlier this year it formed a joint venture with US-based Newmarkets Partners to launch a flexible emerging markets fund of funds, which has a hard cap of $500 million.

Last week it also revealed that German private bank Sal Oppenheim was increasing its stake in the business to 51 percent, in a move that will help to fund CAM’s move into new private equity geographies and other alternative asset classes, including real estate.