AXA closes third LBO fund

AXA Private Equity has announced a €500 million ($651 million) final closing of AXA LBO Fund III, less than three months after beginning fundraising. The closure of the fund, which will invest in the European mid-cap LBO market, brings the total funds managed by the firm to more than €7 billion.
 
AXA said in a statement that the proportion of commitments from French investors had fallen from 56 percent in AXA LBO Fund II to 27 percent in its latest fund. In contrast, the proportions of commitments received from UK and Swiss investors have doubled, from nine percent to 18 percent and nine percent to 17 percent respectively.
 
AXA Private Equity has offices in Paris, London, Frankfurt and New York, and invests across a broad range of private equity strategies, including both direct funds and fund of funds. It raised its first LBO mid-cap fund in 1997. Since then it has closed 34 deals, of which 29 have been in France and the remainder in Germany.
 
In December, the firm announced the final closing of AXA Secondary Fund III on $1 billion, increased from a planned $800 million due to investor demand.