Cinven Raises EUR3 Billion On 1st Close Of European Buyout Fund-Source

Cinven Group has raised EUR3 billion on the first close of its fifth European buyout fund, one of several private equity firms to buck market sentiment and raise significant funds, a person familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires Tuesday.

The raising comes after just six months on the road and Cinven has received commitments from several existing investors many of which are increasing contributions. The fund has a target size of EUR5 billion which it hopes to complete this year.

Cinven has returned EUR2.8 billion to investors across its previous two funds over the past year from the sale of several of its portfolio companies. These include Amadeus IT Holding SA (AMS.MC), the Spanish travel reservations and technology company that listed in April 2010 and from which Cinven made a final exit last October. Overall, Cinven has made seven times the money it put into the company.

The London-based buyout firm also sold allergy-testing company Phadia Group to Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO) last year and has recently sold Ahlsell, a Swedish distributor of building materials, to CVC capital Partners. These sales generated returns of 3.4 times and 2 times money put in.

Cinven and joint owner Warburg Pincus are preparing to list Dutch cable operator Ziggo in an initial public offering expected to raise up to EUR745 million from the sale of a fifth of the shares outstanding.

Cinven's successful fundraising comes after BC Partners raised EUR6.5 billion for its latest European fund last month. Meanwhile, Apax Partners and Permira are also on the road in a bid to raise money for new funds.

-By Marietta Cauchi, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]