Eurazeo announces the successful closing of its sixth direct lending fund at €2.3 billion including €2.1 billion from third parties, thereby exceeding the initial target of €2 billion. Adding in the €900 million raised from retail investors, the total scale of Eurazeo’s Private Debt program reaches €3.2 billion.
The success of this latest fundraising illustrates the wisdom of Eurazeo’s strategy and bolsters its position as a leading funder of SMEs in Europe. Relying on its skilled Private Debt team and building on the success of five previous generations of funds, Eurazeo benefits from the ongoing trust of its long-standing investors and has attracted several new ones, both international and French. Currently, more than 70% of investors come from Europe (outside France), Asia, North America and Australia.
Since its inception, the program is already over 70% deployed. The Private Debt VI fund has invested in over 50 companies across Europe, operating in resilient, non-cyclical sectors such as business services, healthcare, specialized financial services and information technology.
Eurazeo’s Private Debt strategy now accounts for over 20% of its assets under management. Its experienced international team of over 20 investors provides funding – mainly senior debt but also subordinated – to European SMEs with valuations of between €30 million and €300 million. Since the team was formed in 2007, it has helped financing almost 400 companies, with total commitments amounting to €10.5 billion.
François Lacoste and Eric Gallerne, Managing Partners – Private Debt, said:
“The success of this sixth vintage shows the level of confidence that our investors have in our Private Debt business, in which our cautious and selective strategy is particularly appropriate in the current environment. It is also an acknowledgment of the quality of our teams who, across our four European offices in Paris, London, Frankfurt and Madrid, support the development of many high-growth-potential mid-cap companies in Europe.”
