Fundraising of the Year
CVC Capital Partners IX
In July 2023, CVC Capital Partners announced that the company had raised €26bn for CVC Capital
Partners Fund IX (CVC Fund IX), the ninth fund in CVC’s Europe/Americas private equity strategy. This
is the largest private equity fund in history, surpassing $26bn buyout fund raised by Blackstone in
2019. CVC Fund IX was raised at its hard cap and beats CVC’s previous flagship fundraise, which
raised over €22bn in 2020.
At a time when much has been written on the state of fundraising, with Bain & Co reporting that
they expected fundraising across private markets to fall almost 30% compared with 2022, CVC Fund
IX has defied the market conditions that have plagued many of its rivals. In addition, CVC Fund IX
was raised in only six months, further underlining the exceptional quality of CVC’s most recent
fundraise.
Permira VIII
In March 2023, Permira, the global private equity firm, announced the final close of its latest flagship
buyout fund, Permira VIII (P8), with total capital commitments of €16.7bn. This marks one of the
largest fund closes so far this year.
P8 saw strong demand from investors, closing above its target size of €15bn, which represents a
~50% increase in size compared to its predecessor, P7, which closed at €11bn in 2019.
With a re-up rate of over 90% and over 50 new investors welcomed, this fundraise is testament to
the close relationships Permira has built with investors over nearly four decades, and an investment
strategy that backs rapidly growing companies and highly resilient market leaders.
Synova V
Synova Fund V, held its first and final close in July 2022 at the hard cap of £875 million, surpassing its
original £750 million target, in just three months. Synova V is 135% larger than its predecessor fund.
Synova V received overwhelming support from existing investors, with 99% of Fund IV investors
recommitting. On average, existing investors increased their commitments by over 50%. A select
group of new investors were admitted to the heavily oversubscribed Fund.
Synova V has been deliberately constructed to support companies throughout their growth
trajectory operating in attractive niches within our core sectors, Software & Data, Tech Enabled
Services, Financial Services, and Health. As such, £250 million of the capital, the Chrysalis pool, will
be reserved for investments in smaller companies, to continue to capitalise on outstanding
opportunities in this segment of the market as well as providing a strong source of incremental
returns for investors. Synova V will invest in companies with an EV between £20 million and £250
million across the UK, Ireland and continental Europe.
The raising of Synova V follows outstanding performance from prior funds which have achieved
average realised returns of 6.2x invested capital