EQT said on Tuesday it had raised 22 billion euros ($23.87 billion) for its latest buyout fund, bucking a challenging environment for private equity fundraisings.

The Swedish giant said it had exceeded the fundraising target for its EQT X fund by 2 billion euros, making it its largest-ever fundraise.

The fund, which is almost 40% bigger than its predecessor, saw bumper support from private wealth investors, a pool of capital that alternative asset managers are increasingly looking to tap.

"We remain focused on backing and futureproofing companies in attractive and resilient sectors ... and have proven our ability to perform and return capital across cycles," Per Franzén, head of Private Capital Europe & North America at EQT, said in a statement.

The news comes after a tough couple of years for private equity fundraisings, as the fastest escalation of interest rates in decades hindered buyout groups' ability to exit portfolio investments and reduced the flow of capital from their funders.

But as pressure builds to show returns and with interest rates believed to have topped out, private equity groups are planning to sell or list more companies this year, taking advantage of better market conditions, sources have told Reuters.

For instance, EQT is preparing to launch an initial public offering of Swiss skincare group Galderma as soon as March, after a roughly two-year wait, Reuters previously reported.

EQT's latest buyout fund has deployed about a third of its capital since inception, announcing seven acquisitions since June 2022, including medical components supplier Zeus and animal pharmaceutical business Dechra Pharmaceuticals.

Last year, rival CVC Capital Partners raised what it claimed to be the world's largest-ever private equity fund with 26 billion euros in committed capital.

(Reporting by Gursimran Kaur, Sinead Cruise and Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro; Editing by Susan Fenton)