Marlin Equity Partners closes $360 million pot, its first dedicated fund for Europe

Marlin Equity Partners, a global investment firm with hubs in Los Angeles and London, has closed a €325 million ($360 million) fund in what represents the VC firm’s first dedicated pot aimed at European companies.

Though Marlin has been investing in European companies since 2006, the firm’s first on-the-ground presence in Europe came with the opening of its London office in 2013. The company has introduced six private equity funds since its formation in 2005 and says it has more than $3 billion of capital currently under management.

Marlin originally targeted around €200 million ($222 million) for its latest Marlin Heritage Europe fund, which it opened only a couple of months ago, but it seems demand exceeded expectations. The company will now look at investing where it has existing “domain expertise,” including in technology, health care, business services, consumer, and manufacturing.

“The formation of the Heritage Europe Fund is primarily driven by our strong deal flow and the attractive investment opportunities we are seeing throughout Europe,” said David McGovern, managing partner at Marlin. “Our ability to raise the Heritage Europe Fund in just over two months further validates our growing reputation and brand recognition as a leading player in the European private equity market.”

We’ve seen a number of fresh funds aimed at Europe come to fruition in recent months — back in May, E.ventures launched a $150 million fund for early-stage European startups which followed Accel targeting ‘unprecedented opportunity’ in Europe and Israel with a $500 million fund of its own. Elsewhere, Runa Capital recently announced $135 million for series A and B investments, while Partech Ventures closed a $440 million fund aimed at growth-stage startups in Europe and the U.S.

“The Heritage Europe Fund offers a compelling opportunity to continue investing across the European middle market, which we believe is underserved by private equity,” continued Peter Spasov, partner at Marlin. “There are significant cross-border consolidation and growth opportunities to capture throughout Europe, and our ability to leverage the Marlin platform and operational resources positions us well to identify and build successful global businesses.”