(PEHub) Patria Investimentos, backed by The Blackstone Group, has closed its fifth private equity fund on US$1.75b, beating its original US$1.5b target, according to a person with knowledge of the fundraising.

Patria Brazilian Private Equity Fund V officially hit the market in the first quarter and closed in the last few weeks, the person said. The firm has not yet started investing the fund, the person said.

Blackstone did not return a call for comment. Park Hill Group worked as placement agent on the fundraising.

Patria, which is led by four managing partners, closed its fourth Brazil fund on $1.25 billion in 2011 after less than a year in the market. Fund IV was generating a 0.74x multiple as of March 31, 2013, according to performance data from the New York State Common Retirement Fund.

Fund III, which closed on about $630 million in 2008, was producing a 19.2 percent internal rate of return and a 1.6x investment multiple as of Sept. 30, 2013, according to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System.

Patria was founded in 2001 by managing partners Luiz Otavio Reis de Magalhães, Alexandre Saigh and Olímpio Matarazzo Neto. Managing partner Otavio Castello Branco, who joined in 2003, rounds out the executive management group.

The Blackstone Group took a 40 percent stake in Patria in 2010, the firm said on its website.

Fundraising in Brazil was down last year, coming in at $2.34 billion, down 35 percent compared with 2012, according to the Latin American Private Equity and Venture Capital Association. Fundraising across Latin America totaled $5.5 billion last year, according to LAVCA.

Cate Ambrose, LAVCA’s president, told Reuters earlier this year fundraising would gain momentum in 2014. Slower growth and eroding confidence, along with a weaker currency, have helped to depress asset values and increased the attractiveness of buyout targets, she said.

“Some of the major Brazilian players are back in the market and we would expect to see an increase in fundraising numbers compared to 2013,” Caitlin Mitchell, a spokeswoman for LAVCA, said in an email reply to questions Monday.

Advent International was slated to come back to market this year with its Advent Latin America Private Equity Fund VI targeting $2 billion. It’s not clear if that fund has officially hit the market, but sources expected it to launch marketing in May.

JPMorgan-backed Gavea Investimentos has been fundraising and could soon close on about $1 billion, according to a recent report in the New York Times. Other Latin America-focused managers expected to be fundraising, or are fundraising, include Vinci Partners and Grupo BTP Pactual, reportedly targeting $1.5 billion, according to Dow Jones.