CVC reports that it more than quadrupled its private equity investments to €8.3 billion and doubled its exit activity, as its first earnings report since its April IPO hints at a broader rebound in Europe’s PE market.
The Luxembourg-based firm—which manages around €193 billion ($2.14 billion) in AUM—increased its year-over-year PE deployment to €8.3 billion from €1.8 billion, representing 4.6x, in the first half of 2024. Much of this activity was concentrated in Europe and the Americas, which accounted for €6.9 billion of investments.
In the first half of the year, CVC doubled its PE exits to €8.4 billion—with a 3.6x gross multiple and 28% gross IRR—in the 12 months to June 30. It disposed of its remaining 4.99% stake in Vietnam’s Asia Commercial Bank in a $220 million deal in April, valuing the bank at $4.4 billion.
The investment house also sold Neptune Energy in January for $429 million.
CVC raised €7.4 billion in capital in H1, following a record €34 billion fundraise in 2023. It closed its flagship Fund IX at €26.8 billion last year and Asia VI at $6.8 billion in February 2024.
It is currently fundraising for €4.5 billion-targeting StratOps III and $2.25 billion-targeting Growth III fund.
“Over the coming months, we see significant opportunity to scale our existing strategies,” CEO Rob Lucas said in the half-year report. “In particular, we will be accelerating our efforts in secondaries, credit, and infrastructure.”
European dealmaking has picked up in value in Q2, increasing 27.3% from Q1 to €107 billion, according to PitchBook’s Q2 European PE Breakdown. ECB’s rate cut in June and the improved macroeconomic indicators created a more fertile ground for transactions in the region.
PE investors in Europe divested €111.1 billion of assets in H1 2024, with €72 billion transacted in Q2, a sign that exit activities started picking up after dropping for two quarters.
There are also signs that Europe’s IPO market is opening back up. Ten PE-backed companies were listed in H1 at a total value of €33.8 billion. With the value already reaching 61% of that in 2023, 2024 is looking to be the best year for PE-backed IPOs in three years, according to the Breakdown report.
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