Mandarin Capital Partners (Listen to our interview with its founding partner Alberto Forchielli here), a Luxembourg-based private equity firm focused on China-Europe cross-border deals, opened an office in Frankurt, Germany.

Founded in 2007, Mandarin has made 10 investments in Italy and China through its first fund, totaling €328 million.

Mandarin Capital offers its portfolio companies unique support in business development from China to Italy and from Italy to China. With teams based in Milan, Beijing and Shanghai, Mandarin helps its portfolio companies in opening up new business opportunities in China and Europe.

Mandarin is currently raising its second fund. In order to capture greater China-Europe cross-border opportunities, the new fund will expand its geographical scope to the German speaking part of Europe.

The new German office will be based in Frankfurt. Markus Solibieda, a private equity professional with 18 years of experience in investing in mid-sized companies in Germany and Western Europe, will head the office.

"We are looking forward to working together with export-oriented German companies, which are champions in their industry and Chinese companies seeking a wider European presence," Alberto Forchielli, Founding Partner of Mandarin Capital says in a statement.

The new fund will invest in healthcare, environmental technologies, oil & gas, specialty chemicals and specialized industrial companies mainly focused on product safety and energy saving.

The fund will focus on taking controlling positions in its investments, with average deal size ranging from €30 million to €50 million.

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