SwanCap Partners, which announced last week it had welcomed Ardian as a minority shareholder, is to return to market in the third quarter with a flagship fund of funds.
The Munich-headquartered firm is expected to target the same or a little more than predecessor Private Equity Opportunities Fund III, which collected €433 million by final close in March last year, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Similar to its predecessors, Private Equity Opportunities Fund IV will make primary, direct secondaries and co-investments in the European and North American lower- and mid-markets.
SwanCap was founded in 2013 by senior members of UniCredit Bank’s private equity unit and manages a significant portion of the Italian financial institution’s private equity portfolio, which it bought the following year. It has €3 billion in assets under management across four funds of funds.
The firm announced on 20 February that Ardian had acquired a minority position in its management company from UniCredit, which has been selling down non-core assets in order to focus on its corporate banking business. Ardian used secondaries capital to acquire the stake, according to a source familiar with the transaction.
Ardian was a cornerstone investor in the 2014-vintage SwanCap Opportunities Fund II, which raised €600 million.
SwanCap declined to comment on fundraising.
– Alex Lynn contributed to this report.
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