Advent International, a global private equity investor, completed fundraising for Advent Global Technology, a technology-focused companion fund to its flagship Global Private Equity (GPE) program, at $2 billion.
The debut of the new fund closely follows the completion of fundraising for Advent’s ninth global private equity fund, GPE IX, at the hard cap of $17.5 billion, bringing the firm’s total capital raised in 2019 to $19.5 billion.
In conjunction with the formation of Advent Tech, Advent has opened an office in Palo Alto, California.
The firm has also expanded its technology investment team by more than 50% in recent months with the addition of seven professionals, including the previously announced appointment of Bryan Taylor as global head of the team.
The new recruits bring the total number of technology professionals to 20—located in Palo Alto, New York and London—with plans to further grow the group to more than 25 people in the next 12 months.
The team will source, execute and manage technology investments globally for both Advent Tech and GPE IX.
Mr. Taylor, who joined Advent in February, was previously co-head of TPG Capital’s technology group, where he was instrumental in building the firm’s software investment capabilities.
Since establishing its private equity strategy in 1990, Advent has invested in technology companies with a combined enterprise value of over $14 billion worldwide.
Building on this foundation, Advent Tech will continue to focus on growth-oriented companies in a variety of software and data subsectors. It will invest primarily in North America and Europe and selectively in other global markets where Advent has an established presence.
On its own, the fund will have the flexibility to make smaller investments—from $50 million of equity—in disruptive, high-growth emerging businesses. It will also co-invest with GPE IX in mid-sized to large technology companies, with the two funds together able to deploy up to $2 billion or more in a transaction. The funds will consider an array of transaction types, including minority growth equity investments, public-to-private transactions, control buyouts and corporate carve-outs.
Advent Tech has already agreed to invest in two companies alongside GPE IX:
- Definitive Healthcare, a U.S. provider of data, intelligence and analytics on the healthcare provider market, and
- Transaction Services Group, a global company offering business management software and integrated payment solutions to the health-and-fitness and child-care markets.
In addition to Advent Tech and GPE IX, Advent is currently investing its sixth private equity fund focused on buyouts and growth equity investments across Latin America. The 2015-vintage fund, LAPEF VI, is capitalized at $2.1 billion.
Founded in 1984, Advent International is one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors. The firm has invested in over 345 private equity transactions in 41 countries, and as of June 30, 2019, had $54 billion in assets under management. With 15 offices in 12 countries, Advent has established a globally integrated team of over 195 investment professionals across North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. The firm focuses on investments in five core sectors, including business and financial services; healthcare; industrial; retail, consumer and leisure; and technology.
FinSMEs
19/09/2019