Mega-firms and their flagship funds: when did they last raise?

At least eight private equity behemoths could return to market with a flagship fund in 2018, according to analysis of PEI data.

The traffic light system below indicates how long it has been since a firm held a final close on its latest flagship. A red light indicates the firm closed a flagship fund in the last 18 months (hence likely to be busy investing), an amber light indicates the last flagship fund was more than 18 months ago (so likely mulling its next fund). A green light means the firm is understood to be in market or coming to market this year.

Three of the 20 largest firms in the PEI 300 have green lights for fundraising. Among these are: New York-based Warburg Pincus, which is talking to limited partners and will launch fundraising in May; Carlyle, which is still in market with its seventh flagship after a holding first close in Q4 2017, according to a February earnings call; and Neuberger Berman, which is seeking $6 billion for Dyal Capital Partners III.

None of the firms listed below commented on fundraising for this article.

PEI 300 rank	Firm	Most recent flagship	Status
1	Blackstone	Blackstone Capital Partners VII, $22.3bn, 2014		It has been some time since Blackstone raised its last flagship; it amassed $18 billion for the vehicle with a final close in December 2015. The firm is now understood be targeting $2 billion for its first dedicated Asia fund and $6.5 billion for GSO Capital Solutions Fund III.
2	KKR	KKR Americas Fund XII, $13.9bn, 2017		KKR was busy in 2017; the firm raised $13.9 billion for its buyout flagship and $8.5 billion for its Core Investment strategy. It is understood to be in market with its debut impact fund this year.
3	The Carlyle Group	Carlyle Partners VII, $15bn, 2017		Carlyle is still in market with its seventh flagship after a first close in Q4 2017, according to a February earnings call. It raised $18.8 billion in total for Fund VII and its fifth Asia buyout vehicle, though it is unclear how this was divided between the two funds.
4	TPG	TPG Partners VII, $10.5bn, 2015		Although Fund VII closed in May 2016, the private equity behemoth was busy raising $2 billion for its debut impact vehicle, The Rise Fund, last year. It also hit the $300 million target for its TPG Energy Solutions Equity vehicle in January, according to a source familiar with the matter.
5	Warburg Pincus	Warburg Pincus Private Equity XIII, $13.5bn, 2018		The New York-based firm is talking to limited partners and will launch fundraising in May with an anticipated final close at the end of the year, PEI reported in January. Warburg will target about $13.5 billion, not including the GP commitment, and has not yet set a hard-cap, according to a source with knowledge of the fund.
6	Advent International	Advent International GPE VIII, $13bn, 2015		Advent closed its eigth flagship on its $13 billion hard cap in March 2016. The firm does not appear to have been active in the fundraising market since, according to PEI data.
7	Apollo Global Management	Apollo Investment Fund IX, $24.7bn, 2017		Apollo broke records last year with a final close on $24.7 billion for its latest flagship. The alternative asset manager still had $1.5bn to commit from Fund VIII as of November.
8	EnCap Investments	EnCap Energy Capital Fund XI, $7bn, 2016		EnCap is fresh out of fundraising mode. It held a final close on $7 billion for its eleventh energy growth fund, which had a $6.5 billion target, in December.
9	Neuberger Berman Group	Dyal Capital Partners IV, $6bn, 2017		The Neuberger Berman unit closed its Dyal Capital Partners III fund in December 2016 on about $5.3 billion and was already understood to have secured $1 billion of commitments for its fourth flagship as of October 2017. The vehicle is understood to have a $6 billion target and was expected to hold a first close in December last year.
10	CVC Capital Partners	CVC Capital Partners VII, $18bn, 2017		The firm closed its seventh flagship on $18 billion in June. It is now understood to be back in market with the second of its long-life strategic opportunitites funds, for which it is targeting €4 billion.
11	Bain Capital	Bain Capital Fund XII, $9.4bn, 2017		Bain is likely to be busy in 2018, but not with a new flagship. The firm is understood to be targeting around €3.5 billion for Europe Fund V, which is likely to close on a one-and-done in Q2. Bain is also aiming to hold a first close for Bain Capital Special Situations Europe in April, PEI understands.
12	Thoma Bravo	Thoma Bravo Fund XII, $7.6bn, 2016		Chicago-based Thoma Bravo held a final close for its twelfth flagship vehicle on its $7.6 billion hard-cap in September 2016. The firm is understood to be targeting $2.3 billion for its second TMT-focused Discover fund and $750 million for a debut credit fund this year.
13	Vista Equity Partners	Vista Equity Partners VI, $10.6bn, 2016		Vista enjoyed a strong year of fundraising in 2017. It exceeded the hard-cap for its sixth buyout fund to close on $10.5 billion in March, in addition to closing its third technology-focused small-cap buyout fund on $2.75 billion the same month. The firm is understood to be planning to add two new fund families to its existing strategies with the launch of a ‘long-life’ fund and a small buyout vehicle.
14	Apax Partners	Apax IX, $9bn, 2016		Apax Partners held a final close of its ninth fund on its $9 billion hard-cap in December 2016. It was also busy last year, having secured $1 billion for its debut technology fund.
15	Clayton, Dubilier & Rice	Clayton, Dubilier & Rice X, $9.4bn, 2017		Clayton, Dubilier & Rice is reported to have amassed $9.4 billion for its tenth flagship on its hard-cap in April last year.
16	Cinven	The Sixth Cinven Fund, €7bn, 2016		Pan-European firm Cinven closed its sixth fund on €7 billion in June 2016 after just four months in market.
17	Leonard Green & Partners	Green Equity Investors VII, $9.6bn, 2015		Leonard Green reached its $9.6 billion hard-cap on Fund VII in June 2016. Private equity giant Blackstone would later agree to acquire a stake in the firm in July the following year.
18	Ares Management	Ares Corporate Opportunities Fund V, $7.9bn, 2016		The firm’s last flagship closed in April 2016. It has shown little sign of slowing down since, raising a number of funds for different strategies, including Ares Private Credit Solutions, Ares CLO Funding I and Ares High Income Credit Opportunities Fund.
19	BC Partners	BC European Capital X, €7bn, 2016		BC Partners is hot off the fundraising circuit; the firm reportedly closed its tenth flagship in January.
20	Permira Advisers	Permira VI, €7.5bn, 2016		Permira’s latest flagship was closed in December 2016. The firm is now understood to be in market with its debut growth fund and fifth Sigma debt fund.