The team of ex-Apax Partners executives has netted one of the largest European first-time raises. Castik Capital, the pan-European buyout house founded last year by three Apax Partners veterans, has closed its debut fund at €1bn.

Castik was launched last year by Michael Phillips, former senior equity partner at Apax, alongside Marc-Oliver Jauch and Michael Gröber. The Munich-headquartered firm held a first close in June 2014 at €625m and has now reached its hard cap.

Castik intends to hold a concentrated portfolio of just five or six companies. It will seek deals valued between €300m and €1bn, writing equity cheques of between €100m and €250m, and will remain invested for up to ten years.

Phillips’ team has made one investment so far, taking listed water dispenser company Waterlogic private. Since the November deal Castik has supported a number of bolt-on acquisitions, including two in Australia.

For more information: https://realdeals.eu.com/news/2015/08/03/castik-capital-raises-e1bn-for-debut-fund