Akina passes halfway mark for latest secondaries fund

The firm has raised more than €120m for Euro Choice Secondary II and expects to hold the final close on its latest fund of funds at the end of October.

Akina has raised more than half the target for its latest secondaries fund and has held interim closes on two other vehicles.

Euro Choice Secondary II held its second close in July and has raised just over €120 million, according to a spokesman for the Zurich-based firm. Secondaries Investor reported in July that Akina was nearing its second close for the vehicle which has a €225 million target.

In a statement announcing the interim closes, Akina said it targets value, inflection point and high-discount opportunities in the European mid-market of between €5 million and €30 million.

Euro Choice Secondary II’s predecessor was oversubscribed and held a final close on €224 million in January 2015, beating its €200 million target, according to PEI data.

The spokesman told Secondaries Investor that Euro Choice VI, a fund of funds focusing on buyout, growth capital and select special situation opportunities in mid-sized European companies, has raised more than two-thirds of its target size. The fund’s target is €300 million and it held a first close on €180 million in November.

Euro Choice VI focuses on primary investments and also makes secondaries investments. It has already made two secondaries deals in Italy and Spain, and eight primary investments including in the Benelux countries, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden, according to the statement.

The firm expects Euro Choice VI will hold its final close on 31 October.

Its predecessor, Euro Choice V, fell short of its €600 million target after it launched in 2012. It held a final close on €372 million in April 2014, according to PEI data. British pension fund IMI Common Investment Fund is a limited partner in the fund.

Akina’s first dedicated co-investment vehicle, Euro Choice Direct, which is targeting €150 million, also held an interim close on nearly half of its target, according to the spokesman. The fund has made three co-investments so far.