Ardian raises 500 mln euros for small-cap deals

The buyout group closed its Expansion Fund III after raising 450 million from investors and has another 50 million euros at its disposal for co-investments, sister news service Reuters reported.

Ardian’s newly launched fund is targeting companies with an enterprise value of up to 150 million euros and has already invested in German frozen food group Frostkrone, French environmental data company CLS Group, French pharma group Synerlab and French smart-cart testing business Micropass.

Ardian, which manages $46 billion, is riding a pick-up in foreign investors’ interest in European assets and is eyeing mid-sized targets in France, Germany and Italy that have international exposure and growth potential.

Arno Schuetze is a correspondent for Reuters in Frankfurt.