Auda Secondary Fund IV to hold $100m first close

HQ Capital expects to hold a first close this autumn on its global secondaries fund, Auda Secondary Fund IV, with about a quarter of its $400m target, sister publication Private Equity International has learned.

The firm is also raising a new fund targeting small and mid-cap companies in German-speaking Europe. Equita Fund V has raised almost half its €400 million target, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Meanwhile, its $150 million real estate opportunities fund is understood to be on track for a final close in the first quarter of next year.

A spokesman for HQ declined to comment on its fundraising plans and progress.

HQ, which manages more than $11 billion in assets, last week reshuffled its management, appointing Georg Wunderlin as chief executive, Ernest Boles as vice-chairman, and Marcel Giacometti as senior advisor.

In July, the firm held a final close for its seventh fund, Auda Capital VII, a fund of funds vehicle, on $375 million, above its target of $350 million.

HQ was formed last September by combining two US-based investment managers – private equity firm Auda and real estate firm Real Estate Capital Partners – with Germany-based mid-cap buyout firm Equita. Through Auda and RECAP, HQ has been active in private equity and real estate since 1989. Through Equita, HQ has been acquiring majority stakes in companies in the German-speaking regions of Europe since 1992.