In these sparse times, just about any fundraising able to net more than $1 billion would be considered a crowning achievement, regardless of how long it took. And if a fund today were to close with, say, $5 billion in capital commitments, that vehicle would represent one of the great capital-raising feats of its vintage class.
Only eight LBO funds that have been soliciting capital thus far in 2010 had or have targets of $5 billion or more, according to Buyouts. None have held final closes. (See editor’s note at end of story).
By contrast, the first quarter of 2007 was a completely different animal. In those early days of the year, no fewer than 12 LBO funds were already in the market with targets of at least $5 billion, and half of those were actually aiming to raise 11-figure vehicles, according to Buyouts. Among those that saw final closes in the first quarter were
But perhaps no other firm was as tapped in to the fundraising exuberance of the day as The
The expressed goal of Blackstone was to raise slightly more than $22 billion for its fifth fund (an amount that would give it claim to the largest LBO fund in history by a margin of about $2 billion), a source with direct knowledge of the situation told Buyouts at the time. In the end, Blackstone missed its goal by a mere 1.4 percent, and finally wrapped up
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story listed CD&R Fund VIII, which raised a total of $5 billion, as having held its final close in 2010. The fund actually closed in 2009.