News | Private Equity

Wednesday 15th May 2002

SJ Berwin advised Bridgepoint Capital on its latest private equity fund, The Second European Private Equity Fund. The fund closed with commitments of over Þ2 billion, exceeding the original target of Þ1.6 billion. The fund, which held its final closing on 3 May 2002, is focussed on European middle-market buyouts and has attracted over 100 investors from Europe, North America, the Far and Middle East.

The SJ Berwin team comprised corporate finance partners Jonathan Blake and Blair Thompson, assisted by Andrew Lobb.

Blair Thompson commented: "Bridgepoint Capital is a longstanding client of the firm and we were delighted to have helped them successfully raise their second Pan-European fund in what is proving, for some other private equity houses, to be a difficult fundraising environment".

Graham Dewhirst, head of investor relations at Bridgepoint commented "We have raised this new fund in a difficult fundraising market with the assistance of key advisers such as SJ Berwin who will naturally share our pride in having beaten our original target of Þ1.6 billion."

• SJ Berwin is a full-service international legal practice with more than 470 lawyers across its offices in London, Brussels, Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Madrid and Paris.
•  With a dedicated European private equity team comprising over 150 full-time corporate private equity lawyers together with support from its other departments, SJ Berwin advises clients on the full-range of private equity business.
• SJ Berwin's fund formation team is the market leading private equity fund formation team in Europe with SJ Berwin having advised on the formation of over 200 private equity and venture funds in recent years.
• SJ Berwin recently won "Private Equity Law Firm of the Year: Firm and funds work" at the European Venture Capital Journal Awards and "Best Law Firm (fund documentation)" at the PrivateEquityOnline Awards, and was runner up in the category of "Best Law Firm (transactions)".
• SJ Berwin has also recently won the European Venture Capital Journal Award for Private Equity Law Firm of the Year 2000, Law Firm of the Year and Property Team of the Year at The Lawyer Awards 2000, and Competition Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards 2000.
• Bridgepoint Capital, with over 100 employees, has offices in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Nordic region. With some Þ4 billion under management, it typically makes investments in companies valued up to Þ400 million in a broad range of sectors to fund management buyouts and buy-ins, expansion and public-to-private transactions.