Cinven

The past couple of weeks have seen great momentum here at Cinven, and we wanted to share a few highlights. 🆕We welcomed Dominic Smyth, who joined as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. We're excited for the experience and energy he is already bringing to the team. 📰We sat down with Alex Heal from the Financial Times, for a wide-ranging conversation which covered our perspectives on the industry, our strong performance momentum, and our pride in our firm and our colleagues. 🔁We were pleased to host our portfolio companies for a Chief Transformation Officer Forum, bringing everyone together to connect, share ideas, and learn from one another. 🎯And we were delighted to share the final close of our second Strategic Fund, “SF2”, raising c. €2.3 billion, exceeding our target fund size by c. 50% and representing a c. 75% increase in fund size versus its predecessor, the Strategic Financials Fund.

Congratulations to Balazs Lam on being named a winner of the Real Deals Midmarket Future Leaders 2026 list. 🏆 Balazs is a Senior Principal and a key member of our Strategic Funds team. In 2025, he helped lead the origination of Cinven's investment in Flint Global and continues to drive the value creation agenda as a Board member. He also sits on the boards of Compre, IFGL and Finaxy, and is an active originator across the European mid-market.   A well deserved recognition for an exceptional talent. See the full list here: https://lnkd.in/eG9qnv4a

Last week we hosted our first in-person Cinven Transformation Forum, bringing together Chief Transformation Officers from across our portfolio for two days of learning, conversation and collaboration.   The agenda covered the topics that matter most for transformation leaders today: the CEO–CTrO partnership, best practices from across the portfolio, and the question on everyone's mind: What does the role look like in a world shaped by AI? Hosted by the Portfolio team, Nathan Lang organised the event that was joined by a brilliant group of external guests, including Martin Gaarn Thomsen, Chair of Barentz; Nick Barton and Thomas Rodwell from The Barton Partnership, and neuroscientist Alan Watkins and Ruth Walczak-Spratt from Complete Coherence.   Around four in five of our portfolio businesses now have a dedicated transformation leader. This forum was a moment to bring that community together and we hope everyone left with new connections, sharper thinking, and tools they can put to work straight away.

Proud to see Cinven Principal, Laura Brachs , featured in FINANCE Magazin's Top Dealmaker series. Laura has been involved in some of Germany's most significant transactions, and shares her experience on what a career in private equity looks like from the inside. Herzlichen Glückwunsch Laura! 🎉

Congratulations to Cinven Partner, Alexandra Hess Hess, on being named in Private Equity News' Twenty Trailblazing Women in 2026 list. ⭐ Alex has been instrumental in shaping Cinven over more than two decades, leading the Investor Relations and Fundraising team across our Flagship, Strategic and Co-investment funds, and was most recently appointed President of the firm in December 2025. Beyond the numbers, Alex has been a true force in developing the next generations of talent, both here at Cinven and throughout the industry more broadly as one of the founders of Level 20. A truly well-deserved recognition. Read the full list here: https://lnkd.in/eVg486r3

We are pleased to announce the final close of our second Strategic Fund, “SF2”, raising c. €2.3 billion, exceeding our target fund size by c. 50% and representing a c. 75% increase in fund size versus its predecessor, the Strategic Financials Fund. Building on the success of our Strategic Financials Fund, the SF2 gives investors access to a differentiated European mid-market strategy, targeting high-growth, asset-light opportunities across Financial Services, Business Services and TMT. The SF2 has already signed four investments: Objectway, Flint Global, Ongoing Warehouse and Optio Group, all of which are performing strongly. We are particularly proud of what Luigi Sbrozzi and Dr. Michael Weber have built, a dedicated team of 16 professionals that has built real conviction to originate four attractive opportunities since launch. Thank you to both our longstanding and new investors for supporting Cinven's European strategy. Read more on the SF2 final close: https://lnkd.in/ekTw5z8v

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Dominic Smyth as Cinven’s Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Dominic joins us from Deutsche Bank, where he spent nearly 27 years in senior operational, financial and strategic leadership roles across the Investment Bank, Capital Markets, and Sales and Trading divisions. Most recently he served as Global COO of the Investment Bank and Member of the Investment Bank Executive Committee, a role he held for five years. As we continue to invest in and strengthen our platform, Dominic's depth of experience in financial performance management, business strategy, regulatory affairs, and operational effectiveness makes him exceptionally well placed to support Cinven's continued growth. We look forward to working with him. Read more about Dominic’s appointment: https://lnkd.in/e7Ax3XHP

Last week, volunteers from our London office welcomed a group of mentees from Sister System, an Impetus - Backing the best partner, for a session hosted by the Cinven Foundation.   Our volunteers shared their experiences working in private equity, and came away genuinely impressed by the energy, curiosity and enthusiasm the young women brought to every question.   Events like this are a reminder of the talent out there. We look forward to more.

We were delighted to share that Cinven Partner Pierre Estrade was appointed a Chevalier of France's Ordre national du Mérite by Benjamin Haddad, Minister Delegate for Europe last week.   A wonderful recognition of a remarkable career built on partnership, humility and a deep commitment to the entrepreneurs and teams he works alongside every day. Pierre received this honour in the company of many of his past and present Cinven colleagues, who were very proud to share this moment with him. Félicitations Pierre! 🏅

We are pleased to announce that Cinven, together with La Caisse (Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec), has agreed to acquire Optio, a leading specialty insurance Managing General Agent platform.   Optio originates, underwrites and manages specialty risk on behalf of more than 60 third-party capacity providers, it was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in London. The business underwrites a highly diversified portfolio of specialty risks across six business lines, Profession & Specialty, Transportation, Property & Energy, Healthcare, Transactional Liability, and Surety & Credit, spanning more than 30 products across 18 offices in 15 countries.   This investment builds on Cinven's extensive expertise and long track record in specialty underwriting and financial services, including investments in Compre Group, Miller Insurance Services LLP and Policy Expert, and reflects our conviction in Optio's compelling growth trajectory in a structurally expanding market.   Read more about Cinven's investment in Optio: https://lnkd.in/e6W99Jhg