EUR 40m for French expansion capital and buy-out fund MMF III

EIF has signed a commitment to invest up to EUR 40 million in Middle Market Fund III (MMF III), a French fund targeting to raise EUR 250 million and focusing on high-quality medium-sized firms across all segments of the French economy, but with a specific emphasis on areas which reflect the sector expertise of the various team members: business to business services, consumer goods/branding, food industry, health related sectors, manufacturing industries and retail. MMF III will focus both on expansion capital opportunities and small buy-out operations aiming towards a balanced split between the two investment types.

Managed by Paris-based Banexi Capital Partenaires SA, the Fund recently achieved a first closing at approximately EUR 109m. The management team has already acquired considerable experience through its previous middle market fund MMF II, which was launched in 1999, and through all investments it made since 1993 on behalf of Banexi, a wholly owned subsidiary of BNP Paribas. EIF has no prior relationship with the team, although EIF is an investor in Banexi Ventures II and III, managed by Banexi Venture Partners, a sister management company of Banexi Capital Partenaires.