AGF nears €400m target for fifth European fund with greater focus on secondaries

Paris-based fund of funds manager AGF Private Equity is nearing its €400 million target for its fifth European fund of funds. AGF, which is owned by insurance giant Allianz, has garnered €315 million in commitments, predominantly from European LPs, to invest in European private equity.

The fund, which has been in the market for around 12 months, will focus on European mid-market managers and have a greater focus on secondary fund interests than its predecessors. Secondaries will make up around 30 percent of the allocation, with 50 percent destined for primary fund commitments and 20 percent for co-investments.

AGF has a further €35 million in soft-circled commitments, said chief executive Christophe Bavière, and is confident that the final target will be reached by the end of 2009. While fundraising has been stalled significantly by the financial crisis, Bavière reported that some large European institutions were still under-exposed to European mid-market private equity and still have an appetite to commit.

AGF was established in 1997 and has built up around €2 billion under management across eight funds of funds. In 2006 it closed AGF PE Holding IV on €306 million.