Luxembourg-headquartered Castik Capital has closed its European Private Investment Club I (Epic I) fund on its €1bn hard-cap, up from the €625m that was raised at first close in June 2014.

KEY FACTS

• Epic I
• TARGET – €1bn
• LAUNCHED – 2014
• CLOSED ON – €1bn, Jul 2015
• FOCUS – Buyout
• FUND MANAGER – Castik Capital

Launched in 2014, Epic I was “significantly oversubscribed”, according to Castik.

The final close comes a year after a first close was announced for the vehicle, totalling €625m in commitments raised from five investors. Pöllath & Partner and Arendt & Medernach provided legal advice during the fundraising process.

The vehicle is the first to be set up by Castik since inception in 2014. The GP was co-founded by Apax Partners alumni Michael Phillips and Marc-Oliver Jauch, as well as Montagu’s Michael Gröber.

The fund close follows a wave of hires by the Luxembourg-headquartered GP, which recently added four new senior advisory partners to its existing two. The new appointees include CNC Communications’ Christoph Walther and Deloitte’s Dan Arendt.

Investors
According to Castik, the fund’s LP base features five large institutional investors from North America, Europe and Asia. The group includes a Canadian backer that joined as cornerstone investor at the time of the first close last year.

Investments
Epic I will target equity tickets of €100-250m for companies valued between €300m-1bn. Businesses above the €1bn threshold will be considered on a co-investment basis.

According to Castik, the fund will hold five or six portfolio companies and stay invested for up to 10 years.

The vehicle will stick to the GP’s three-pronged strategy: provide a mixture of equity and debt to family businesses while allowing owners to maintain control of the company; pick up larger stakes in private companies; or secure a stake of less than 30% in listed businesses.

The fund will seek companies within sectors such as business and financial services, technology, retail, healthcare, industrials and digital media. Although investments will be considered across all European countries, a geographical focus will be placed on transactions in France, DACH, Benelux, Italy, Poland and the Czech Republic.

Epic I’s maiden deal took place in November 2014, when UK-headquartered water purification specialist Waterlogic was taken private for £122.6m. Castik, which has since supported the company in a series of bolt-ons, is currently eyeing further transactions for the fund.

People
Epic I will be overseen by Castik’s Luxembourg team, with the GP’s Munich office carrying out advisory duties for the vehicle.

For more information: http://www.unquote.com/benelux/official-record/2420327/castik-closes-maiden-fund-on-eur1bn