Welcome to IPEM's Fundraising Digest, a wrap of the recent major fundraising announcements, from fund launches to first and final closes.
First up, we've gone deeper into Bridgepoint and Eurazeo's recent successful closes. Both are examples of oversubscribed credit funds, evidence of the strong fundamentals this year for capital raising in the asset class - over €75bn has been raised by European credit funds so far this year, according to PEI.
Eurazeo’s seventh vintage private debt programme raised a total of €5.5bn, an increase of 70% on the previous raise, including nearly €1bn from private wealth channels.
In Bridgepoint’s case, their fourth direct lending programme raised €5.1bn in total capital commitments, surpassing its original €4bn target. One third of the campaign’s investors were new to the firm.
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First & interim closes
Hg, Orion I
Hg’s debut secondaries fund, Orion I is the firm’s first dedicated GP-led vehicles. It closed at €1bn after six months, more than halfway toward the fund's €1.75bn target. Orion 1 will seek out single-asset deals in software and tech-enabled services.
Amundi, Amundi Senior Private Debt V
Amundi’s launch and first close of its fifth-generation private debt vehicle secured nearly €200mn. The Article 8 classified fund falls under Europe’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), will invest through Sustainability-Linked Loans tied to responsible performance indicators covering both environmental and social pillars.
Nauta, Nauta Fund VI
Nauta closed the sixth iteration of its fund with €60mn at first close. It comes 20 years after Nauta raised its first institutional VC fund in 2006. The latest fund is targeting €150mn to €200mn, with the final close projected for the second half of 2027. Three quarters of capital secured in the first close came from repeat investors. This includes the UK government-owned British Business Bank, who anchored the vehicle with a €30mn commitment.
Final Closes
Gaius Capital (Berlin) — Gaius Nachfolgekapital I
Berlin-based private equity manager, Gaius Capital announced the final close of its debut fund, Gaius Nachfolgekapital I, at its €50mn hard cap on 12 October 2026. The DACH Mittelstand succession buyout fund’s first close was €40mn in June 2026. An additional €6mn co-investment vehicle brings the total capital pool to €56mn.
Arini, Arini Direct Lending Fund I
Arini’s inaugural European senior secured direct lending fund closed with €3.7bn in deployable capital. This closing, including anticipated leverage, officially ranks the vehicle as one of Europe’s largest maiden direct lending funds. London-based Arini was founded in 2021 by former Credit Suisse trader Hamza Lemssouguer. The fund was anchored early on by the Canadian pension fund, British Columbia Investment Management Corp. (BCI).
Pantheon, Pantheon Global Secondaries Fund VIII
Pantheon secured a final close of the eighth vintage of its global secondaries programme amassing €5.4bn in total commitments. This beats the firm’s initial target by 71%. A significant driver of the oversubscription was a heavy influx of new LPs from Asia and the Middle East.
Share any fundraising news by sending me an email to feature in a future Fundraising Digest.
James is an experienced financial journalist and editor with over 20 years experience covering private markets and alternatives. He is host of the Clockwork CIO podcast.
