Five Arrows raises €1bn for GP-leds

Rothschild Merchant Banking Group‘s secondaries unit has outstripped its last fundraise by more than 120 percent with its latest haul.

Paris-headquartered Five Arrows has collected €1 billion for Five Arrows Secondary Opportunities V against a target of €700 million, according to a statement. Predecessor FASO IV raised €451 million, above its target of €400 million, by final close in September 2016, according to Secondaries Investor data.

Mireille Klitting, managing partner of FASO, said in the statement: “The [GP-led] market continues to grow strongly with the need for ever more sophisticated solutions for complex needs. FASO V is well-positioned to further capitalise on this opportunity due to the depth of our experience gained during more than 16 years in this market.”

FASO V has already signed four GP-led secondaries deals and is 30 percent committed. In October, the group backed the transfer of six growth-stage assets off the balance sheet of Tikehau Capital into a separate vehicle, part of the French asset manager’s strategy to increase its third-party investor base, Secondaries Investor revealed.

The 2016-vintage FASO IV has completed its investment period, making 15 investments and committing 127 percent of its capital, the statement announcing the close of FASO V noted. The fund has distributed over 40 percent to date.

Five Arrows targets GP-led deals, predominantly in the European small and mid-market. It can write tickets of €10 million to €100 million and can commit larger amounts by co-investing with limited partners.

FASO has 16 investment professionals. In June, it hired former Strategic Partners director Brian Kolin to help build out its US presence, sister publication Buyouts reported.

Five Arrows is the second secondaries fund to reach a final close so far in 2020. On Monday, Secondaries Investor reported that niche secondaries specialist Hollyport Capital had closed its seventh fund on its $1 billion hard-cap.