(Bloomberg) -- EQT AB has raised €22 billion ($24 billion) for its largest-ever private equity fund, overcoming a difficult fundraising market.

The Swedish investment firm exceeded a €20 billion target for the EQT X fund, according to a statement on Tuesday. The total is also roughly 40% bigger than the predecessor fund. EQT sought a six-month fundraising extension from a planned August 2023 close, Bloomberg News reported last year.

“People knew that our fundraise was going very well at that point,” Suzanne Donohoe, chief commercial officer at EQT, said in an interview. The extension was to give limited partners more time to make decisions in a more challenged liquidity environment, she said.

The fund is already 30% to 35% invested, according to the statement, with acquisitions including Swedish medical freight company Envirotainer AB and UK veterinary drugmaker Dechra Pharmaceuticals Plc.

“There are good opportunities to put money to work right now,” said Eric Liu, a partner and co-head of global health care sector team at EQT. “There are a few sectors we have quite distinctive competitive advantages, health care is about 40% of what we do. And in a lot of the countries in Europe we are by far the dominant private equity firm.”

About 70% of commitments for EQT X came from existing investors, including pension and sovereign wealth funds. Private wealth investors accounted for an increased share of commitments. 

In 2023, EQT launched Nexus, a strategy to help broaden its investor base through retail investors, create more liquidity and further diversify its fundraising. More private equity firms are eyeing wealthy individuals as an untapped capital pool, as institutional investors become more discerning about where they park their cash at a time of slowing returns.

“You are seeing a segmentation in the market right now,” Donohoe said. “We are finding that those who’ve delivered the strongest performance are also those who’ve been able to create the most momentum in their fundraising.”

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