CEECAT Capital's third fund closes first round at €135 million with EIF and EBRD anchors

CEECAT Capital, a private equity manager that has invested in small and mid-market companies in central and eastern Europe and Türkiye since 2005, has held a first close of its third fund at €135 million, the firm said on 10 September. CEECAT Capital Fund III has a target of €200 million and a hard cap of €250 million, against €154 million raised by Fund II.

The first close was anchored by the European Investment Fund, which has committed €40 million in total, part of it supported through Romania's National Recovery and Resilience Plan, and by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, according to CEECAT. The EBRD said on the same day that it is investing up to €40 million in the fund, in its own release.

Together the two institutions have committed up to €80 million, equal to about 59 per cent of the first close. Neither release says how much of each commitment was counted in the €135 million.

Strategy and geography

The EBRD said the fund will focus primarily on companies in Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Türkiye, providing growth capital to SMEs and mid-caps and supporting cross-border expansion, according to the bank. CEECAT's own announcement adds Poland as a new investment market, where it says fragmented mid-market sectors suit its cross-border consolidation strategy.

As in Fund II, about 65 per cent of investments are expected to be majority transactions, with equity tickets of €15 million to €20 million at final close and a five-year investment period, the firm said. It is adding sector leads: Didem Ilgaz Anil for healthcare and Yilmaz Karakas for AI and technology. The firm operates from offices in London, Luxembourg, Bucharest, Belgrade and Istanbul and expects to open another regional office.

"Most of our existing LPs have re-upped on the back of Fund II's performance and exit record, and they have been joined by new institutional investors and family offices," Anthony Stalker, a partner, said in the announcement. "We seek to back proven local businesses in fragmented sectors and turn them into regional platforms through cross-border consolidation promoting regional scale."

The Fund II record

Fund II closed in 2022 and has invested in nine companies across technology, financial services, manufacturing, business services and retail, according to CEECAT. Its first exit came in early 2026, when it sold La Cocos to companies of the Schwarz Group, and the firm said two further exits are at an advanced stage and expected to complete in the coming months.

One holding has since drawn a large round. CEECAT said on 17 September that EnduroSat, a satellite maker in which it became the first institutional investor in May 2023, had raised $205 million in a round co-led by Riot Ventures and Atreides Management, with GV and Founders Fund among the backers, according to the firm. CEECAT said it had worked on the company's finance function, corporate governance and ESG framework from its board seat.

The fundraising backdrop

The EBRD framed its commitment as support for a market where fundraising is difficult. Its release said the fund provides an alternative source of long-term financing "at a time when fundraising conditions remain challenging", and that Fund III will promote high standards of corporate governance and responsible business conduct across its portfolio, with a gender-inclusive approach and a search for green investments, according to the bank.

It is the second EBRD commitment of up to €40 million to a regional buyout fund announced since September: the bank made a commitment of the same size to the Polish manager Avallon's fourth fund in October. CEECAT did not name its other limited partners or disclose fees, carried interest or the timing of a final close.