Montagu raises £1.7bn for new deals
Montagu Private Equity said it has raised 2.5bn euros (£1.7bn) for new deals, tapping investors from across the globe who are increasingly picky about the buyout firms they back.
Montagu, the former European buyouts business of HSBC, said Tuesday its fourth fund attracted investment from pension funds, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds from the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Demand was substantially above the 2.5bn euro target, Montagu said.
Many private equity firms, including BC Partners and Cinven , have been trying to raise new capital, after exhausting funds raised in the middle of the last decade.
The fundraising process has become more difficult as cautious investors seek the best-performing buyout firms.
BC Partners has so far raised 4 billion euros towards its latest buyout, beating initial expectations and providing a ray of hope to the many firms expected to follow it this year.
Rival Cinven last month kicked off a new fundraising drive, targeting more than 5bn euros for new deals.
Montagu raised 2.3bn euros for its third fund in 2005, investing the capital in deals including waste management group Biffa and survival suit maker Hansen Protection.