News & Analysis

Egeria puts up 10%-plus GP commitment

The firm, which closed its fourth fund on its €600m hard-cap, said maintaining relationships with investors – even when they are not investing in your fund, is the recipe to a successful fundraising.

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An oversubscribed fund that hits the hard-cap within three months is not a scenario many European GPs would expect given the current economic climate in the region. But Dutch private equity firm Egeria managed to do just that; it collected €600 million for its Egeria Private Equity IV, it said last week. 

Factors leading to the success of the fundraising included a more than 10 percent GP commitment, Egeria told Private Equity International. Also, the firm has worked hard to develop relationships with limited partners, even those who don’t commit to the fund. 

“We have great relationships with national and international pension funds and well known fund of funds,” said Caroline Huyskes, a partner at Egeria. “We maintain these relationships and keep them well informed, even when they are not an investor with us. If you keep showing good results and you maintain contact between the fundraising years, you are in a great position when you decide to go to the market.”

We maintain these relationships and keep them well informed, even when they are not an investor with us. If you keep showing good results and you maintain contact between the fundraising years, you are in a great position when you decide to go to the market

Approximately 80 percent of the fund was raised from European investors, and 20 percent from North American LPs, according to a statement. “Half of the American investors already invested in our previous fund, so that made it slightly easier,” Karlijn Juttmann, portfolio manager at Egeria, said. “We did have to explain that Europe is not one country. We invest in Dutch businesses and often a lot of the businesses would be export-orientated. But I think if we were a fund in Spain, the fundraising would have been a lot different,” she said.

The firm declined to comment on past returns; however, the quick fundraise “indicates Egeria had successful returns in the past”, according to Juttmann. “You can have a lot of contacts and invest in relationships but if the returns aren't good, then it will be a difficult story,” she said. 

Acanthus Advisers acted as a placement agent for Egeria Private Equity Fund IV, while O’Melveny & Myers advised Egeria on the legal side. Egeria Private Equity IV has not deployed any capital yet, the firm said.