The investor, founded in 2003 Cipio Partners is one of the pioneers in growth investing in Continental Europe. It combines primary growth capital with minority buyout elements to provide founders and early investors with liquidity. The VC has now announced the final closing of its current fund, Cipio Partners Fund VIII (CPF VIII), at €202 million.
Support for CPF VIII came from both institutional investors—including sovereign investors, European banks, and insurance companies—and family offices across Europe and the US. In addition, almost all investors from the predecessor fund, Cipio Partners Fund VII (CPF VII), participated again.
With CPF VIII, the investor intends to pursue the same investment strategy as with its €174 million predecessor. Since its final closing in 2017, the latter has invested in 16 fast-growing technology companies from Germany, France, Scandinavia, the UK, Ireland, and Spain. According to the VC, all were close to profitability at the time of investment. Through several exits, CPF VII has generated substantial returns for its investors after just a few years.
“An important milestone for Cipio”
Diana Meyel, Managing Partner at Cipio, comments:
"We are very proud to have reached our target fund size and are thrilled with the support we are receiving from all our loyal returning and new investors. The increase in the fund and the strong support from leading institutional investors and family offices marks an important milestone for Cipio and is a testament to Cipio's performance, the quality of our team, and our leadership in the fast-growing European growth equity market."
Roland Dennert, also Managing Partner at Cipio, adds:
“Given the current market uncertainties, the completion of CPF VIII comes at a perfect time and provides Cipio with a strong position and capitalization to capitalize on market opportunities for investing in European growth-stage technology companies.”
The new fund has already made two investments in European growth companies: in the Austrian smart home developer Nuki, as well as in Navvis, the Munich-based provider of end-to-end solutions for reality capture and so-called “digital twins”.
