Egeria hits €500m

Dutch mid-market buyout firm Egeria has raised its third fund, Egeria III, at its hard cap of €500m, with interest from both existing and new investors taking it well past its predecessor fund size of €140m.

The oversubscribed Egeria III is the largest fund focused solely on the Netherlands so far this year according to research house Private Equity Intelligence. It will focus on mid-market companies in The Netherlands or those with a Dutch connection, and with an enterprise value between €50m and €200m.

Commitments came from Dutch and international institutions and family offices, including investors from North America and Europe. The closing of this latest fund brings the firm’s assets under management to approximately €1.1bn.

Egeria was created in 1997 by entrepreneur Peter Visser, a former private equity professional with Dutch bank MeesPierson. The then independent Egeria received backing from Bregal, the investment arm of the Brenninkmeijer family, who are the owners of European clothing retailer C&A and are said to be the richest family in the Netherlands.

Egeria closed its previous fund, Egeria II, in 2004 on €360m. The firm is finalising its last two investments for the fund and plans to make its first investment from Egeria III in Q4 2008, according to the firm.

The Dutch buyouts player is close to selling Benelux frozen snacks business Advang Holding, owner of Ad van Geloven and Mora, the UK private equity consumer specialist Lion Capital. Egeria acquired Ad van Geloven in 2002 from Unilever, and then added Mora in 2006 in another purchase from Unilever.

Egeria has a majority interest in companies such as Royal Mosa, Ad van Geloven, Muelink & Grol, SIF, Boemer, Tanatex and Holonite.