Strategic Value Partners nears Fund III target

Firm: Strategic Value Partners

Fund: Strategic Value Special Situations Fund III

Target: $1 billion

Amount Raised: $884 million 

The firm disclosed roughly $809 million in commitments through a pair of Securities and Exchange Commission filings in August. Strategic Value Partners has raised an additional $75 million from a private investor that was not included in the filings.

Strategic Value Special Situations Fund III will invest in distressed debt and the assets of mid-market companies, Buyouts reported in November. The firm likely will focus its investment strategy on opportunities in Europe, where many banks are unloading non-core assets.

“In our view, the distressed opportunity today is not about waiting for defaults to pick up, or for the wall of maturities, but rather about taking advantage of the large-scale asset-disposal programs that banks have initiated on both sides of the Atlantic (in many instances under pressure from regulators),” the firm writes on its website. “European banks have been plagued by bloated balance sheets, with almost $50 trillion in assets compared to $16 trillion in GDP.”

Investors have ratcheted up their commitments to distressed and special situations funds over the last several months. Centerbridge Partners is planning to close its third distressed-for-control fund on $6 billion in October. Other firms such as American SecuritiesCastlelakeLittlejohn & Co.Sycamore PartnersTPG CapitalVarde Partners and Z Capital Partners have closed distressed funds this year as well.

Strategic Value Partners was founded in 2001 by Victor Khosla. The firm is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, and maintains offices in London, Frankfurt and Tokyo.

The firm has raised $2.9 billion for its private equity strategy, according to its website. Strategic Value Partners also manages a $1.9 billion hedge fund strategy.