Akina closes debut secondaries fund on €224m

Akina has held a final close for its debut secondaries fund on €224 million, exceeding its €200 million target, according to a statement.

Euro Choice Secondary launched last year and held an interim close on €122.5 million in October and a first close on €73.5 million in July.

The fund attracted 35 limited partners such as pension funds, endowments, insurance companies, family offices and high-net-worth individuals. Most of the LPs are from Australia, Canada, Europe and the US, the statement disclosed.

About 45 percent of committed capital has been invested as of the end of 2014, senior partner Mark Zünd said.  “Further interesting investment opportunities are in advanced execution stages and we are confident that Euro Choice Secondary will be fully invested by end of 2015, delivering attractive and stable investment performance.”

Previously the fund  acquired a portfolio of 30 European private equity funds for €35 million, which represented a discount of more than 50 percent to net asset value.

Most of Akina’s investments focus on European funds targeting the distribution, food, energy, healthcare, and infrastructure and real estate sectors. Deals range between €5 million and €30 million.

Although Euro Choice Secondary is the firm’s first dedicated secondaries fund the firm has been investing in secondaries since 2008. Previously it invested its mid-market Euro Choice flagship funds of funds, which each had a secondary allocation. The last Euro Choice Fund, €372 million Fund V, used its secondaries allocation early on, prompting Akina to launch a dedicated vehicle.

Akina was founded in 1999 and is based in Zurich. It is led by former UBS executives Christopher Bödtker, Thomas Frei and Yvonne Stillhart, according to the firm’s website. Zünd, a former Lombard Odier private equity executive also serves on the firm’s investment committee.