Cinven closes €2.3bn Strategic Fund 2

Cinven has raised approximately €2.3bn for its second Strategic Fund, exceeding its target by around 50%, attar ting support from existing investors and new LPs, as the PE firm expands its European mid-market strategy beyond financial services.

Strategic Fund 2 (SF2), which is approximately 75% larger than its predecessor, the Strategic Financials Fund (SFF), will target control investments in high-growth, asset-light businesses across financial services, business services and technology, media and telecoms. Cinven said the strategy will focus on opportunities where its sector expertise and European network can support transformational value creation.

SF2 will be managed by a dedicated 16-person investment team led by Cinven partners Luigi Sbrozzi and Michael Weber. The strategy will primarily pursue founder- and employee-owned businesses across key European markets.

Cinven plans to leverage its Sector-Regional origination model, which combines specialist sector knowledge with the firm’s regional networks across Europe. Its functional portfolio and capital markets teams, together with its North American presence, will also support portfolio companies as they expand internationally.

The new strategy builds on the investment approach and track record of the SFF, while broadening the addressable market to include business services and TMT alongside financial services.

SF2 has already signed four investments: Objectway, a digital platform serving wealth managers, banks and asset managers; Flint Global, a professional services firm focused on regulatory, policy and economic advice; Ongoing Warehouse, a cloud-native warehouse management software provider; and Optio Group, a specialty insurance managing general agent platform.

Cinven said all four businesses were founder- or employee-owned at the time of investment and that their management teams will remain key partners in the next phase of growth.

The firm said the Strategic Funds also create benefits for its wider investment platform, including stronger relationships with businesses and other stakeholders across European markets, deeper sector-based thematic research and greater sharing of expertise between investment teams.

Bruno Schick and Jorge Quemada, co-managing partners at Cinven, said the successful fundraising reflected investor confidence in the firm’s European focus, buyout strategy and track record of investing through different market cycles.

Sbrozzi and Weber said the larger fund would allow Cinven to pursue a broader set of mid-market opportunities while applying the firm’s sector and operational capabilities to founder-owned businesses.

The fundraising adds to Cinven’s ability to deploy capital across Europe’s mid-market while maintaining its existing large-cap Flagship Funds strategy.