Apera closes second fund above target at €1.27bn

The firm’s follow-up to its 2019 fund secured strong backing from investors in Europe and the US for its senior secured debt strategy.

European fund manager Apera has held a final close of its second private debt vehicle at €1.27 billion.

Apera Private Debt Fund II exceeded its initial target of €800 million, with capital raised from a range of existing and new investors including pension funds, insurers and endowments from both North America and Europe. The firm’s first private debt fund held a final close in February 2019 with €750 million.

Fund II is thought to have a standard three-year deployment period and Apera reports it has already committed a significant proportion of its capital.

It will invest in senior secured financing in the UK, DACH, Nordics, France and Benelux with target investments of between €15 million to €100 million. It will focus on providing financing to strong businesses with downside resilience, competitive market positioning and attractive growth prospects.

Klaus Petersen, founding partner at Apera, said: “We have developed one of the leading private debt platforms in Europe and see a strong opportunity to build upon this growth through partnering with leading private equity sponsors and mid-market companies to access attractive risk/returns across our key markets.”