Bregal closes €811M continuation fund to back Safety21 and Onlineprinters

Bregal Unternehmerkapital (BU) has closed a multi-asset continuation fund totalling €811 million to extend its backing of two portfolio companies, Safety21 and Onlineprinters. LGT Capital Partners and Pantheon led the fund as lead investors.

BU sees continued upside in both companies and views a continuation fund as the best ownership structure to fund their next growth phase. The vehicle provides long-term capital for further acquisitions while giving both firms room to expand their market positions.

The transaction drew interest from existing and new institutional investors. Existing backers could roll their stakes into the continuation fund or sell all or part of their position for liquidity, letting them align with their own investment goals.

Under BU's ownership, both companies roughly tripled revenue and EBITDA. Safety21, an Italian GovTech platform for road safety and smart mobility, now serves more than 700 municipalities on long-term contracts. Onlineprinters, one of Europe's leading online print platforms, serves more than a million small and mid-sized customers.

Both companies rely on consolidation strategies in fragmented markets — Safety21 through concession expansion and buy-and-build, Onlineprinters through acquiring customer portfolios from smaller printers. Integration and continued dealmaking carry execution risk.

Continuation funds have become a favoured tool for private equity firms to hold onto top performers past standard fund timelines while returning cash to earlier investors. BU's €811 million close shows appetite for such secondary structures remains strong among institutional buyers seeking exposure to proven assets.