Advent International has raised $17.5 billion for its ninth global private equity fund, potentially increasing the amount it may invest in India where it has acquired controlling stakes in two companies in the past two years.
The fund hit a hard cap after having surpassed its initial target of $16 billion after six months in the market, Advent said in a statement on Thursday. Its previous global fund closed in 2016 at $13 billion.
The new fund will invest in buyout, corporate carve-out, public-to-private and growth equity transactions. It will primarily look at deals in Europe and North America and selectively in Asia and Latin America, the firm said.
The latest fund will continue to focus on five industries that are core to Advent’s strategy: business and financial services; healthcare; industrial; retail, consumer and leisure; and technology, media and telecom.
Shweta Jalan, a managing director at Advent and head of India business, said the successful fundraising marks a significant milestone for the PE and increases the amount of capital that may be deployed in India.
She said that, as with the previous global funds, with the new fund, Advent will be able to invest a portion of the capital in India to pursue its “long-established strategy of partnering with management teams to drive business transformation and earnings growth”.
Advent has been active in India since 2007 and has invested nearly $1 billion in India, it said. The firm’s last deal in India was a buyout of Manjushree Technopack in October 2018. Prior to that, Advent had picked up a significant majority stake in innerwear maker Dixcy Textiles Pvt. Ltd in 2017.
According to the firm, more than 90% of the new fund’s commitments came from limited partners in prior Advent funds.
David Mussafer, a managing partner at Advent in Boston, said the PE firm’s success is “due to our long-established sector focus, global footprint, private partnership model, and the significant operational resources we apply to our investments”.
James Brocklebank, a managing partner at Advent in London, said Advent is particularly well-positioned to pursue complex situations, such as corporate carve-outs, where it can apply sector and operating expertise to unlock value in businesses.
Since 2005, portfolio companies that Advent has owned for at least a year have increased revenue and operating profit on average by 14% and 15% annually during the period of its investment.
Advent has more than 195 investment and portfolio support professionals worldwide. A team of 157 professionals across Europe, North America and Asia will deploy the new fund, it said.