The Riverside Company has named Karsten Langer as managing partner for Riverside Europe as the firm seeks €600 million for its sixth Europe-focused vehicle.
Langer takes over day-to-day operations and management of the firm’s European business from managing partner Antonio Cabral, who is stepping down after almost two decades at Riverside, a source familiar with the matter told Private Equity International.
The leadership change is in tandem with the launch of Riverside Europe Fund VI in March, according to communications sent by the firm to investors seen by PEI. The target for Fund VI is more than 30 percent larger than that of its predecessor, the 2016-vintage REF V, which gathered €340 million against a €450 million target. Employees Retirement System of Texas committed €40 million to REF V, according to PEI data.
Riverside declined to comment on the leadership change and fundraise.
Langer joined Riverside as a partner in 2006 to build the European origination model and joined the investment team in 2011. He served as chairman of industry body Invest Europe from 2011 to 2012. Prior to joining Riverside, he had senior leadership roles at M&A International and GE Capital, according to his LinkedIn profile.
It is understood that Cabral will remain a senior member of Riverside Europe Funds’ investment committee and his role will change to founding partner once Langer takes over.
It is understood that Fund VI will have the same strategy as its predecessor, backing control buyouts of European companies with less than €25 million in EBITDA.
The firm generated greater than 4x for its investors with its two latest exits, according to a source familiar with its performance. It sold Spanish herbal supplements company Euromed in November and Denmark-based DPA Microphones in December. DPA was the first exit from REF V.
Eight of Riverside’s last 14 exits have returned greater than 3x on a net basis, and gross cash-on-cash across these transactions was close to 3x, it is understood.
The firm raised $1.2 billion in August last year on its fifth micro-cap fund in less than four months. Los Angeles County Employees’ Retirement Association and Michigan Department of Treasury each committed $100 million to the vehicle and State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio contributed $75 million, according to PEI data.
Riverside has over $8 billion in assets under management across offices in London, Brussels, Stockholm, Munich, Madrid and Luxembourg. It employs 30 private equity professionals in Europe across six offices, in addition to 10 other offices globally.
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