HQ Capital, a leading independent investment manager for alternative assets, has announced the final closing of Auda Capital VII, a US$375 million fund.

Auda Capital VII will continue the successful investment strategy of the prior Auda Capital fund series by seeking primary and secondary investments in small and mid-sized companies in the U.S. and Europe. HQ Capital’s global private equity investment team will work to establish a diversified portfolio of up to 500 companies with a focus on buyout and growth investment opportunities over the next four to five years. It will also seek co-investment opportunities in partnership with select private equity fund managers.

Auda Capital VII’s limited partners consist of institutional investors including insurance companies, pension funds and large family offices. The fund, which exceeded its target amount of US$350 million, offers two separate vehicles for U.S. and European investments and is the seventh fund in HQ Capital’s core private equity program, started in 1995.

“We are pleased with the support we have received from our investors,” said Britta Lindhorst, Managing Director and Head of European Investments at HQ Capital. “The strong demand from both existing and new investors is a testament to our differentiated investment strategy. We believe this fund is the right size for the opportunities we see before us, and we look forward to applying our extensive network, 27 years of experience and local market expertise to build attractive private equity portfolios for our clients.”

“We plan to diversify our fund investments across a variety of markets and industry segments,” added Marc Lohser, Managing Director at HQ Capital. “We will also continue to remain active in the small- and mid-sized enterprise markets because we think the competitive environment in that size range produces more attractive valuations for companies with solid risk-reward profiles.”

HQ Capital sees a number of attractive investment opportunities in its target markets in the U.S. and Europe, two regions that have continued to improve since 2009. The U.S. economy remains relatively stable, as do most of the economies of Europe, the impact of the recent ‘Brexit’ vote notwithstanding. Additionally, in the current low-yield environment, private equity offers attractive return opportunities compared with liquid investment markets.

ACAP VII is comprised of a European and U.S. portfolio. The European portfolio, denominated in Euros, was converted to USD at an exchange rate of 1.14012 as of the date of its final closing.

HQ Capital is a leading independent alternative investment manager in Germany with more than US$11 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2016. HQ Capital combines investment expertise in private equity and real estate with more than 140 employees and offices in Frankfurt, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas, Washington, D.C., London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul and Tokyo. Additional information is available at www.hqcapital.com.