The British private equity firm Cinven announced this Tuesday that it has completed the raising of a strategic investment fund of approximately €2.3 billion, coming in 50% above the initial target. The fund, designated SF2, is the successor to the Strategic Financials Fund (SFF), which was concluded in 2022 with €1.5 billion. The capital raising aims to invest in high-growth, low-capital-intensity medium-sized European companies.
Portugal is among Cinven's priority targets, with the Iberian Peninsula being one of three priority regions, alongside Germany, Austria and Switzerland and the UK and Ireland. The fund aims to gain control of companies owned mainly by their founders or employees. The key sectors will be financial services, business services, and telecommunications and IT.
The SF2, which has a team of 16 professionals, has already signed four deals: Objectway (digital solutions for wealth managers), Flint Global (regulatory consulting), Ongoing Warehouse (warehouse management systems) and Optio Group (platform for insurance agents). According to Cinven's managers, these four investments are performing in line with or better than expected.
Cinven already controls Idealista in Portugal and Spain, bought for €2.9 billion, and RBE (Restaurant Brands Europe), owner of Burger King in Spain. It also holds a position at Alfonso X University in Madrid and more than 28% in HBX, the parent company of Hotelbeds. Last year, it sold its 50% stake in the operator MasOrange for nearly €20 billion.
