Archinvest has selected three managers for its US Mid-Cap multi-fund
The digital platform and management company founded by Emilie Loyer-Buttiaux, Nicolas Macquin and Pierre-Olivier Desplanches is targeting €50 million and a return of around 20%. Archinvest has completed its first fund invested in LBO strategies and is preparing to launch a second vintage.
In a persistently difficult environment for fund-raising, digital platforms specializing in unlisted assets are renewing and diversifying their offerings. Investors and distributors (asset management advisors, family offices and private banks) need to be convinced, with minimum entry tickets of 100,000 euros.
Already comprising three funds of funds (Archinvest LBO 1, Archinvest Dettes Privées 1 and Archinvest Secondaire 1), Archinvest's range is expanding with a fourth multi-fund invested in US Mid-Cap, as revealed by Finascope 6 months ago.
Archinvest is aiming to raise capital of 50 million euros over a subscription period scheduled to end in the first quarter of 2025, with a target return of around 20% net of fees. This specialized professional fund (FPS), incorporated under French law, is available for investments starting at $300,000.
Thoma Bravo, Veritas and Clearlake
After a selection and due diligence phase, three funds have already been selected, out of a planned total of 4 or 5 for this US1 LBO fund. They are Thoma Bravo, Veritas and Clearlake.
Thoma Bravo ($138 billion in assets under management) invests in professional software. The manager is currently raising the 16th generation of its main fund and the 5th generation of its Discover fund, which targets mid-cap companies. Veritas ($40 billion AUM) specializes in companies providing critical technology solutions to the US government.
As for Clearlake Capital Partners ($80 billion under management), it is positioned in complex transactions in the technology, industrial and consumer goods sectors. Two other funds are being considered for a fourth investment: Falfurrias Capital and Webster Equity Partners.
This 75% portfolio allocation to US funds will be complemented by direct co-investments in US companies for the remaining 25%.
In the United States, the "mid-market" segment is made up of companies with annual sales of up to 1 billion euros and an enterprise value of between 100 and 500 million dollars.
500 against 170
"There are more funds available in the USA than in Europe. Those in the top decile outperform European funds over the long term, sometimes by 30% or 40% annually," commented Emilie Loyer-Buttiaux, co-founder of the management company, last May. "In 2023, over 500 LBO funds will have been launched in the United States, compared with 170 in Europe. U.S. private equity funds have demonstrated historic outperformance compared to European funds: +410 basis points (4.1%) net IRR (internal rate of return) for U.S. top quartile funds compared to European top quartile funds between 2005 and 2020," the presentation brochure also states.
Archinvest is also preparing the launch of its second vintage Archinvest LBO2, invested in LBO investment strategies. LBO1 raised a total of 30 million euros.
To illustrate this strategy, the platform organized a round-table discussion on Wednesday with Alain Calmé, Chairman of European Camping Group, and Mathieu Chouquet, Investor Relations Director at PAI Partners.
Known under the Homair and Marvilla Parks brands in France, European Camping Group has become, through several LBOs, one of Europe's leading outdoor hotel companies. Its EBITDA has increased 30-fold since 2007, reaching around €200 million in 2023. The company is currently owned by PAI Partners and is part of the portfolio of the Archinvest LBO 1 fund.
Nicolas Raulot
Finascope
