Andera Partners completes the single closing of its ActoMezz IV sponsorless fund at more than €500 million
– Andera Partners’ largest fund raised to date
– Individual investments of between €5 million and €70 million
– Annual IRR target over 10% net
Paris (France), 29 June 2020 – Andera Partners, a leading player in unlisted investment in France and abroad, has completed the single closing of its ActoMezz IV sponsorless mezzanine fund, exceeding its initial hard cap of €500 million. This new fund, raised in record time despite the COVID-19 crisis, is the largest completed to date by Andera Partners and 60% bigger than the previous ActoMezz vehicle, which also saw a single closing above its initial hard cap in July 2017, at €315 million.
The ActoMezz team has raised more than €1 billion in total over the last six years. Its funds target and generate an annual performance of more than 10% net.
Partner to executives in sponsorless transactions
ActoMezz IV’s investment strategy follows the tack that the ActoMezz team has successfully taken for 15 years, with more than 50 transactions and 34 exits to its name. The fund, which targets unit investments of between €5 million and €70 million, enables company managers to (re)take control of their company through the backing of a financial partner who provides them with all the know-how of private equity while leaving them in control of the capital. ActoMezz IV mainly targets French small and mid-caps but, like Andera’s other investment strategies, does not exclude cross-border transactions, in particular in the Benelux countries, Italy or Spain, all in the context of ambitious growth projects.
Stéphane Bergez, Co-manager of Andera Partners and Managing Partner of ActoMezz: “This fundraising, which comes less than three years after the closing of ActoMezz III, achieved its initial objective of €450 million in just 16 weeks before going on to comfortably exceed it, despite the lockdown. We are very proud to see a re-up of more than 100% of our existing clients for this new vehicle – and to welcome more major investors. This success is the fruit of a solid and consistent strategy that the same team has led with discipline and enthusiasm for 15 years and which is now recognised as unique in sponsorless mezzanine investment in Europe.”
Pierre-Yves Poirier, Co-manager of Andera Partners: “The success of the ActoMezz IV fundraising despite a difficult international context validates the strategy of Andera Partners, which has established itself as a leading platform for growth and consolidation in the private equity market. The progress of Cabestan and BioDiscovery, the firm’s two other ongoing fundraisings, reflects investors’ confidence in Andera Partners, which is consolidating its positions and organisation – particularly by constantly strengthening its teams. We thus apply to ourselves the same rigorous and ambitious growth strategy that we expect of the companies we support. This growth will lead us to raise more than €1 billion in 2020, firmly establishing Andera Partners as one of the biggest players in the market.”
Success stories
The ActoMezz team has a track record of more than 50 transactions and 34 exits. Its main objective is to support and accelerate growth projects with a view to scaling up businesses alongside majority shareholder managers. ActoMezz’s portfolio currently includes companies such as:
- Passman, France’s leading provider of internet access for public sites, in a sponsorless transaction in 2014 that resulted in the doubling of the group’s size in five years and its international expansion, followed by a reinvestment by the ActoMezz III fund in 2019;
- Bioclinic, a major in routine medical analysis in the Paris region, supported by ActoMezz since December 2018 for its Ile-de-France development strategy consisting of four significant acquisitions.
Through ActoMezz’s involvement, many more talented executives have been able to acquire a controlling interest in the companies that they have managed for several years, such as HVJ, Prenax, Tournus and Travelsoft.