Ardian has closed a €500 million (U.S. $689.3 million) private equity fund.

Ardian, formerly Axa Private Equity, is a Paris private equity firm with offices in New York, London, Zurich and other cities. The fund attracted investors from North America, Europe and Asia, including insurance companies and pension funds. The firm is run by Dominique Senequier (pictured) as CEO. Senequier founded Axa Private Equity in 1996, after working in insurance. She is also vice president of the supervisory board of luxury brand Hermes International.

The fund, called Expansion Fund III, closed at about $620 million with $70 million in co-investments. It will focus on investing in companies valued at up to $690 million and will make majority and minority investments.

Expansion Fund III has already invested in Frostkone, a German snack company, the CLS Group, a French environmental data company, Synerlab, a pharmaceutical manufacturing group, and Micropross, a company that provides communication tools.