UK private equity firm ECI Partners has closed its new fund, ECI 9, three months after its launch, raising £430 million.

UK private equity firm ECI Partners has closed its new fund, ECI 9, three months after its launch, raising £430 million.

The fund, which had targeted £400 million, received commitments from 25 investors and advisers based in the US, the UK and continental Europe, as well as two Asian limited partners.

ECI managing director Steve Tudge says the fundraising surpassed his expectations given the ‘challenging conditions’ of the past three months.

Adds Tudge, ‘We are delighted that over 90 per cent of the ECI 9 capital has been committed by existing ECI investors, showing the loyalty of our investor base, some of whom will now have invested in the last six successive ECI funds since 1990.’

ECI invests in buy-outs, buy-ins and development capital transactions with an enterprise value of between £10 million and £150 million. The firm’s previous fund, ECI 8, closed in 2005 raising £255 million.