Houlihan Lokey Advises MML Capital on Its €1 Billion Raise for Partnership VIII

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce the final closing of MML Partnership Capital VIII (Fund VIII), the latest fund of MML Capital (MML), a leading partnership capital specialist focused on the European middle market.

Fund VIII closed at its hard cap of €1 billion, almost 50% larger than its predecessor Fund VII, and benefited from the strong support of both existing and new investors. Commitments to Fund VIII were secured from a diverse cohort of institutional investors from Europe, North America, South America, and Asia, including sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, public and private pension funds, asset managers, endowments, foundations, and family offices.

The success of this fundraising reflects the consistently strong performance that MML has recorded over a series of funds, including two exits that returned +10.0x MOIC in recent years. Over the past 12 months alone, MML has announced a total of eight exits across the group at an average return of 4.1x MOIC, generating more than €600 million of distributions. In the same period, MML deployed in excess of €500 million across 10 new platform investments.

Ian Wallis, Co-CEO, said, “We have a long-standing group of blue-chip investors who have supported us from fund to fund, and it is great to welcome a new cohort of LPs from around the globe. Fund VIII is off to a fantastic start, with very strong early deployment and a fabulous early exit.”

Jonty Graham, Partner and Head of Investor Relations, said, “We are incredibly grateful to all our investors for the trust they have placed in MML and the conviction they have shown in MML Partnership, a strategy that has proven to be resilient through the cycles.”

MML’s Partnership Capital strategy brings a highly differentiated investment approach to the European middle market through its strategy of backing owner-managers and providing tailored solutions designed to support growth and international ambitions. This maximises alignment with management teams and provides a market-leading risk/return profile to MML’s investors.

Houlihan Lokey served as the global placement agent for MML.

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