Astorg, a leading pan-European private equity firm, is pleased to announce the successful closing of the Normec Continuation Fund, capitalized by lead investors CVC Secondary Partners, Pantheon, Lexington Partners, and Eurazeo, alongside a diverse group of additional investors, including sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, asset managers, and family offices.
The Continuation Fund was established to acquire Normec, a leading pan-European independent TICC player held in Astorg VII (“Fund VII”). The transaction was oversubscribed and includes commitments from both existing Fund VII and new investors alongside significant equity contributions from the Normec leadership team and the Astorg deal team. The Continuation Fund raised €1.4bn, including substantial additional capital to further support Normec’s organic growth initiatives and acquisitions.
Founded by Joep Bruins, CEO of the Group, Normec is a leading European provider of testing, inspection, certification, and compliance services, employing over 5,000 people across 6 European countries. Since the initial investment in 2020, Normec has performed strongly under Astorg’s ownership, more than quadrupling its size, thanks to solid organic growth, a successful acquisitive strategy (40+ acquisitions), with international expansion across 4 verticals, and a strong relationship with the current management team who will continue to lead the development of the firm in partnership with Astorg.
“Following the €1.3bn continuation fund raised to support IQ-EQ in 2022, establishing our second continuation fund for Normec marks a significant milestone for Astorg, and we are grateful to our existing and new partners for their support,” said François de Mitry, Chief Investment Officer of Astorg. “We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Normec as it embarks on its next phase of growth, and we thank Joep and his team for their dedication and renewed trust.”
“We are proud of the growth and collective accomplishments of the Normec team over the past years and we are pleased to pursue our successful partnership with Astorg. The completion of this transaction will allow us to reinforce Normec’s pan-European leadership and to support our international expansion,” said Joep Bruins, Normec’s Group Chief Executive Officer.