European PE funds in the market for $110B+ despite headwinds

European private equity funds are looking to raise a total of more than €109 billion (about $110.7 billion), and despite macroeconomic uncertainty, investors have been largely successful in reaching their targets.

PitchBook data shows that, as of the end of Q2, there are 197 open PE funds in the market—65 of which have launched since the start of 2021. Around 55% of the European funds seeking commitments are buyout funds.
    The largest fund currently raising capital is KKR's sixth European buyout fund, which held its  first close in April and exceeded €6 billion, beating its initial €5.8 billion target. A final close date is yet to be announced.

KKR is not alone in its success—so far, most funds are hitting their target, PitchBook data shows. Around 89% of funds that began to deploy in 2022 and set fundraising targets have reached them, as did 70% of funds in 2021—though the former comes with the caveat that not all funds disclose their targets and more vehicles could yet be added to this year's count. For 2018 and 2019, the figure is around 57%. By comparison, the worst vintage for missed targets was 2009, in the middle of the Global Financial Crisis, when just 30% of funds that set a target reached it.

Fundraising in Europe has had a slow start to the year; 40 vehicles closed in the first half of 2022, worth €27.9 billion in aggregate, according to PitchBook's Q2 European PE Breakdown. Last year saw 161 funds raise €87.9 billion. Some of the factors that have driven fundraising, such as stock volatility and PE outperformance, remain intact, yet LPs are struggling to keep up with re-up demand from existing GPs.

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This article originally appeared on PitchBook News