Kartesia, a European specialist in capital solutions for small and mid-sized companies, has announced the final closing of its sixth-generation credit opportunities strategy, Kartesia Credit Opportunities (KCO) VI, with a total of €1.3 billion.
The fundraising for KCO VI received strong interest from a global base of Limited Partners (LPs), with notable support from a diverse mix of leading investors from the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Over 25 new institutional investors contributed to the strategy, representing nearly 50% of the total capital.
This trend highlights the growing interest from investors seeking to gain exposure to opportunistic European private credit through experienced managers like Kartesia. Moreover, KCO VI saw a substantial increase in commitments from private wealth investors, which now account for over 20% of the total capital, compared to less than 10% in the previous fund.
50% has already been deployed across several high-quality investments, demonstrating robust borrower demand and the team’s execution capacity in the current environment.
Kartesia’s Credit Opportunities strategy has been at the forefront of the European lower mid-market since 2013, allowing for flexible dual-track, primary, or secondary origination in predominantly sponsorless deals. This provides bespoke financing solutions across the capital structure.
The KCO strategy continues to demonstrate leading performance, with past vintages having returned over €2.3 billion to investors at IRRs exceeding 14%, positioning it among top-tier managers in the space. Responsible investing is at the core of Kartesia’s values, and the Credit Opportunities strategy actively aligns with the SFDR Article 8 standards.
In combination with its other strategies, including senior credit opportunities, asset-based finance, impact, and the recently launched ELTIF in partnership with Candriam, another New York Life Investment Management affiliate, Kartesia provides a truly multi-strategy offering for an increasingly diverse set of clients and their needs. The Group remains focused on developing new strategies in adjacent areas that provide further valuable solutions for clients.
KEY QUOTE:
“We are pleased to announce the successful closing of KCO VI given challenging macro-economic conditions which have caused significant liquidity issues for LPs across the board. The KCO strategy continues to return capital to investors at an attractive rate of return, with borrower demand also staying high, we remain confident in the ability of our deal teams to source exciting investment opportunities. We’d like to thank all existing and new investors for their continued support in this fundraising round, which will allow us to continue to finance a vibrant European lower mid-market.”
Laurent Bouvier, Managing Partner at Kartesia
