CVC Capital Partners: Assets under management generating fees at €177bn (+24%), +11% organically

Marathon and gross inflows bring billable assets under management to €176.6bn

In the third quarter alone, assets under management generating fees increased from €153bn at the end of June to €176.6bn at the end of September, a rise of 15%. This movement includes Marathon, consolidated following the completion of the transaction on July 1, 2026, which contributed €18.4bn to the credit division. Excluding this scope effect, growth is driven by gross inflows of €27bn over the last twelve months, of which €7.2bn in the third quarter alone. Over twelve months, outflows linked to asset disposals reduced assets under management by €12.4bn. The distribution has shifted. Credit, secondaries and infrastructure now total €105bn, up 21% organically over one year, and represent 60% of the group as a whole. Credit reached €67.4bn, up €24bn over one year (or +55%), mainly due to Marathon integration, which contributed €18.4bn. Secondaries and infrastructure combined gained €10bn (+39%), reaching €17.6bn and €20.1bn respectively. Private equity, the group's historic business, remained broadly stable around €71bn. The $3.4 billion raised for the Catalyst strategy was offset by capital outflows linked to stake disposals. This distribution matters, as assets under management generating fees constitute, according to the group's definition, the base on which management fees are calculated. These fees are calculated, depending on the vehicles, on committed capital, invested capital or net asset value.

Exits up 31% over twelve months, guidance reiterated

Signed exits reached €23.1bn over the twelve months ending September, up 31% year-on-year, a level the group describes as a record. Over nine months, they amounted to €16.6bn compared to €15.4bn a year earlier, but €5.1bn in the third quarter alone, versus €5.8bn a year previously. In private equity, these exits were completed at a gross multiple of 2.9x invested capital and a gross IRR of 23%. Since the beginning of 2022, private equity funds have returned €60bn to investors, representing 36% more than capital called, with a gross multiple of 3.3x and a gross IRR of 24%. The group reiterated its guidance: its performance-related earnings (PRE) for fiscal year 2026 are expected to be close to 2025 levels. On the investment side, deployment reached €28.8bn over twelve months, up 26%. Deployment reached €4.3bn in secondaries, representing 2.3x the level a year ago, and €3.3bn in infrastructure, up 58%. Private equity deployed €11.7bn, a pace the group considers compatible with a fund cycle of three to four years. The value of private equity and infrastructure portfolios increased 12% over twelve months, including currency effects (11% excluding currency). The group attributes this to the operational performance of held companies, whose EBITDA increased 14% in private equity as of end August 2026.

Fund X targeted at €26bn or more, SOF VI closed beyond its objective

For its next major Europe/Americas fund, Fund X, CVC has set an initial target of €26bn in assets under management generating fees and says it is very confident of reaching this amount or more, ahead of a formal launch in January 2027. In secondaries, the SOF VI fund was closed at $10 billion, against a target of $7 billion. Insurers represented 30% of SOF VI commitments. Credit secondaries have already raised over €500m, while infrastructure funds DIF VIII and VA IV total €6.3bn in commitments, with a combined target of €8bn and an increased cap for VA IV. Weal thy client base is also growing: the group's five open-ended vehicles represent €8.2bn, approximately three times more than a year ago and 20% more than the previous quarter. On August 20, 2026, CVC announced a joint venture with Standard Life to create a pension risk transfer platform targeting large British corporate pension schemes. This vehicle, backed by a consortium including Prudential Financial, will have initial commitments of up to £2 billion, drawn down as transactions progress. The group has continued its operations in recent weeks, with an agreement announced on October 12, 2026 to take a stake in Fibrotex via Catalyst III, still subject to regulatory approvals, followed by the effective takeover of Cernaval by its DIF infrastructure branch. On the governance front, Todd Sisitsky and Peter Rutland will become co-chief executives by the first quarter of 2028, a succession announced on September 9. John Hourican took up his duties as chief financial officer on September 1. The group will hold a private equity day on November 24, 2026 in London, ahead of its annual activity update on January 28, 2027.