London-based Bridgepoint has amassed €2.8 billion for its latest vehicle, Bridgepoint Europe V, PEI has learnt.
The fund, which officially came to market in May, has already raised 80 percent of its €3.5 billion target, an investor source told Private Equity International.
The firm recently held a first close “north of €2 billion”, the source said, adding that it has increased the total to €2.8 billion since then. Bridgepoint is likely to close the fund on its €4 billion hard-cap by year end – making it one of the largest European funds raised this year.
A spokesperson for Bridgepoint declined to comment other than to say that “fundraising is proceeding well”.
Among the LPs in Bridgepoint Europe V will be the Washington State Investment Board which is allocating €225 million, the source added.
Bridgepoint’s fifth fund will be invested over a four-year period, deploying approximately €750 million to €1 billion per year.
The firm’s prior fund, the €4.84 billion Bridgepoint Europe IV, is fully deployed, but has capital available for add-on acquisitions, it is understood. This vehicle secured a 12-month investment extension in 2013 after it became apparent it would not need to fund as many add-on acquisitions as planned.
Bridgepoint has returned approximately €1.7 billion to LPs so far this year, the source said. In July, Bridgepoint sold SPTS Technologies Group to Orbotech, an Israel-based technology business, for $370 million, netting the firm a 2.6x return and a 35 percent internal rate of return, PEI reported at the time. In April, the firm sold CABB International, a German-based chemical manufacturing business, to fellow UK firm Permira, yielding a 2.4x return.
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