Ambienta secures €200m second close

Ambienta, an Italy-based firm focused on investing in the environmental sector, has held a €200 million second close on its second fund.

The fund, which came to market in June targeting €300 million, held the closing just before Christmas, the firm told Infrastructure Investor's sister publication Private Equity International.

Ambienta has now secured two-thirds of its target size. It is understood there’s “considerable interest” for the remaining commitments, the firm said. Investors in the second closing include Italian and Nordic pension funds.

So far, the fund has attracted 20 investors, including strong existing investor re-ups and new Italian and international institutional investors. LPs include pension funds, insurance companies, fund of funds and family offices. International investors from Europe and North America represent almost 40 percent of aggregate commitments.

The firm held a €145.2 million first close in October, which was more than it has planned for the first close, Nino Tronchetti Provera, founder and managing partner at Ambienta, told PEI at the time.

“We aimed for €100 million”, he said, adding that “the market reacted positively to our idea”. Rede Partners is acting as placement agent for the fund.

While fundraising remains a challenge, conditions have eased slightly, Tronchetti Provera said in October. “In the last few months, I have noticed that US investors are rediscovering Europe. I think both European and American investors understand that some of the southern European countries – and mainly Italy – are providing good opportunities.”

Tronchetti Provera attributed some of the firm’s fundraising traction to their industrial-focused strategy.

“We have two hubs in Germany and Italy where most industrial businesses are located. Approximately 85 percent of the revenues of our companies are outside their home countries and more than 50 percent of their revenues are coming from outside of Europe, where growth is happening.”

Ambienta, which was established in 2007, is a growth SME investor targeting investments in the environmental sector. It aims to capitalise on the growing markets for businesses focused on energy and resource efficiency, waste management and pollution, and renewable energy services. In 2009, it closed its first fund on €217 million.

Ambienta plans to deploy capital from its latest fund early this year, Tronchetti Provera said in October.

It is unclear when the firm will wrap up fundraising for Ambienta II. “We have had a very good and promising start but I don’t like to make a detailed prediction on our final close,” he said. “We are not in a hurry.”