France’s Capza closes latest fund on €1.6bn

Capza, a pan-European fund manager based in Paris, has closed its latest private debt fund – CAPZA 5 Private Debt – on €1.6 billion.

The vehicle, which is already 75 percent committed, provides unitranche and mezzanine debt to SMEs with EBITDA of more than €12 million in France, Spain and Germany. The focus is on “resilient and non-cyclical business models” in sectors including healthcare and technology.

Capza has not revealed the identity of individual investors but said it received commitments from existing backers such as insurers, funds of funds, public institutions and pension funds as well as LPs new to the firm from France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Japan and South Korea.

This support helped the fund move well past the €950 million raised by the prior private debt vehicle in the series. Given the speed of deployment from Fund 5, Capza said it was already planning a sixth fund “with an even stronger ESG approach”.

“The success of this round confirms the relevance of our investment thesis, aimed at avoiding default and investing in robust companies in resilient sectors at a European scale, without compromising on credit documentation or the level of leverage,” said Guillaume de Jongh, private debt partner at Capza, in a statement.

Formed in 2004 and with around 100 transactions completed since, Capza is majority owned by its team with support from AXA Group. The firm has €5.1 billion of assets under management and invests in six areas: private debt, flex equity, transition, Artemid (senior loans), growth tech and expansion. It has 80 employees based in Paris, Munich, Madrid and Milan.