Waterland Private Equity Investments has announced the closing of two new funds, raising a combined €4 billion in capital in just four months. The firm’s ninth institutional flagship fund, Waterland Private Equity Fund IX, closed at its hard cap of €3.5 billion, while the newly launched Waterland Partnership Fund I closed at its hard cap of €500 million. Both funds were oversubscribed, with demand significantly exceeding their respective fundraising targets.
The investor base for both funds is broadly diversified by both geography and investor type, drawing commitments from asset managers, public and private pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, foundations, and family offices across Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific. The raise was supported by continued strong backing from existing investors alongside significant interest from new limited partners.
Waterland Private Equity Fund IX will continue the firm’s established buy-and-build investment strategy, making investments in medium-sized companies operating in fragmented growth markets across Europe to finance organic and acquisitive growth. The strategy is a continuation of the approach applied across the firm’s prior funds over the past two decades. Waterland Partnership Fund I is a new extension of the Waterland platform, designed to make minority investments in a select number of Waterland portfolio companies at the point of exit.
The announcement also signals a leadership transition at the firm. Cedric Van Cauwenberghe, who is joining as incoming Group Managing Partner, will succeed Frank Vlayen later this year. Evercore Private Funds Group acted as global strategic fundraising adviser for the dual raise. Legal counsel was provided by Kirkland & Ellis International, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, and Matheson. Waterland operates across an integrated network of 13 European offices.
KEY QUOTES:
“The fundraisings for WPEF IX and WPF I have been a great success in a challenging fundraising market. It is a significant achievement for us to have closed both funds in just four months. We remain thankful for the strong support of our existing and new investors and their confidence in our team and strategy. We look forward to making investments with both funds and continue to see many attractive opportunities in our target region despite the volatile macro environment.”
Frank Vlayen, Group Managing Partner, Waterland Private Equity
“We are grateful and humbled by this strong vote of confidence by our investors. We are looking forward to partnering closely with ambitious management teams across Europe to jointly execute buy-and-build programs. We will also continue to invest in our own firm to further strengthen our position as a leading local buy-and-build investor in Europe across our integrated network of 13 European offices.”
Cedric Van Cauwenberghe, Incoming Group Managing Partner, Waterland Private Equity
“We are grateful for the strong support from existing and new LPs for this dual fundraise, despite the challenges faced by many investors in the past year. We look forward to a fruitful partnership as we strive to continue to deliver exceptional returns for our investors.”
Marc Lutgen, Head of Investor Relations, Waterland Private Equity
