Explorer Investments, a Portuguese private equity firm, is raising a record fund to target Spain and is already two-thirds toward its €75m ($90m) target.

Explorer I is due to close in November and has an exclusive deal with Mercapital, a €1bn Spanish private equity group, to make joint investments in companies valued at between €25m to €50m. The fund will invest more than €3m, with Mercapital investing at least another €10m, but avoid start-ups, bankruptcy restructuring and high-tech investments.