Cinven, Europe’s fifth-largest private equity firm according to the PEI 300, is running what is understood to be its first continuation fund process, Secondaries Investor has learned.
The London-headquartered buyout firm is running the GP-led transaction on global life science ingredients distributor Barentz, according to at least five sources familiar with the matter. Evercore is understood to be advising on the process.
Cinven commenced its current process for Barentz this summer, according to one of the sources. Secondaries Investor understands that Cinven had explored secondaries buyer appetite for a GP-led deal in the fourth quarter of last year, though that did not ultimately go ahead.
The private equity firm invested in Netherlands-headquartered Barentz in 2019, according to its website. Barentz then acquired Canada-headquartered Pestell Nutrition, a distributor in specialty ingredients for the animal health, animal nutrition and pet food markets in 2021.
Cinven is in market with its eighth flagship fund seeking €12 billion, according to PEI data. The fund launched in January last year, PEI data shows.
GP-led activity was subdued in the first half of this year compared with the same period over prior years, reaching between $16 billion and $18 billion, according to advisory reports. Deal volume sat between $40 billion and $50 billion between January and June, down from the $54 billion to $58 billion seen across the same period last year.
Cinven and Evercore declined to comment.
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