About Eurazeo

• Founded: 1969

• Headquarters: Paris, France

• AUM: €35bn as of 2024

• Strategy: Multi-strategy private equity across buyout, growth, venture, and secondaries; pan-European with selective North American exposure

• Track record: Prior secondaries funds include Fund IV at €1bn (2021), Fund III at €650m (2018)

• Leadership: William Kadouch-Chassaing (CEO), Virginie Morgon (Chair of Supervisory Board)

Eurazeo reached final close on its fifth secondaries fund at €2.3bn, exceeding the €2bn target and more than doubling the €1bn raised for Fund IV three years prior. The vehicle focuses on LP-led and GP-led transactions in European private equity, continuing the firm's expansion in the secondaries market. The close positions Eurazeo among the larger European specialists in the strategy, though still well below the scale of dedicated secondaries platforms like Ardian or Lexington Partners.

The fund-size jump reflects a structural shift in secondaries supply rather than Eurazeo-specific momentum. GP-led continuation vehicles—where managers transfer assets from maturing funds into new structures to extend hold periods—have grown from a niche exit route to a standard liquidity tool, particularly in European mid-market buyout. Eurazeo Fund IV deployed into a market where GP-leds accounted for roughly 40% of secondaries volume; Fund V is deploying into a market where that figure has exceeded 60% in recent quarters. The €1.3bn increment between funds is less about Eurazeo's franchise strength than about the volume of transactions needing capital.

The question is whether the GP-led pipeline remains this deep once interest rates stabilize and primary exit markets reopen. If traditional M&A and IPO routes normalize over the next 18 months, the supply of continuation vehicles could contract sharply, leaving funds of this size competing for a smaller set of attractive deals. Eurazeo's ability to deploy €2.3bn without eroding returns will depend on whether the structural shift in GP behavior—using secondaries as a planned liquidity tool rather than a distressed fallback—proves durable or cyclical.

Source: AltAssets