The fund has a target size of €200 million and a hard cap of €250 million, positioning it to exceed CEECAT Capital Fund II, which closed at €154 million.
he first close was anchored by cornerstone investors including the European Investment Fund (EIF), which has committed in total €40 million, part of which is supported through Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan framework, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The fund also received strong support from existing Limited Partners (LPs), alongside new commitments from family offices and institutional investors.
“The first close of Fund III is a strong signal of continued investor confidence in Emerging Europe and in CEECAT’s strategy. 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. We seek to back proven local businesses in fragmented sectors and turn them into regional platforms through cross-border consolidation promoting regional scale. Capital should follow companies with a credible path to scale, not simply exposure to a single country. With EU accession gathering pace in the Western Balkans and the region’s economies converging with Western Europe, we believe the coming decade belongs to businesses that can operate across borders,” stated Anthony Stalker, Partner, CEECAT Capital.
As in Fund II, approximately 65% of investments are expected to be majority transactions, with equity tickets of €15–20 million at final close and disciplined, balanced deployment over a five-year investment period.
Besides the markets it is already present in, CEECAT Fund III will actively pursue opportunities in Poland, the region’s largest economy, as a new investment market.
Operating from five offices in London, Luxembourg, Bucharest, Belgrade and Istanbul, CEECAT plans additional hires across its offices and expects to open a further regional office as it builds out the team behind Fund III.
In early 2026, the fund completed its first exit, by selling La Cocos to companies part of Schwarz group.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)