Livonia holds first close on EUR 147m

Livonia set the hard-cap for its latest fund at EUR 170m, founding partner Mindaugas Utkevicius told Unquote.

Livonia is advised by law firms Ellex and Ropes & Gray for the fundraise, and has no placement agent.

The firm plans to hold a second closing of the fund by early September 2022, Utkevicius said.

Livonia's debut fund was launched in 2015 and has been fully deployed, Utkevicius said. Its lifecycle runs until mid-2025, with a possibility for extensions. A total of EUR 83m is managed across the Livonia Partners Fund I and the Livonia Partners EIF Co-Investment Fund, according to the sponsor's website.

Mergermarket reported in 2019 that Livonia expected to start raising its second fund at some point in 2019. The sponsor instead launched the fundraising process in 2020, as its first fund was not mature enough and was still making investments in 2019, Utkevicius added.

Investors
All Fund I investors re-upped for Fund II, and a number of new investors have joined them, the firm said.

The LPs are Baltic and Nordic pension funds, including Swedbank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and Baltic Innovation Fund 2, alongside Baltic family offices. The new investors include SEB, as well as additional Swedbank funds and family offices, Utkevicius said.

Investments
Livonia Partners Fund II will invest equity tickets of EUR 5m-25m, with a EUR 15m-17m sweet spot, Utkevicius said.

Around a third of the fund could be invested outside the Baltic region, specifically in EU countries, and Switzerland, Norway and the UK. Nonetheless, the sponsor would look for a Baltic connection in case of a deal outside its home region, Utkevicius said, adding that this link could come via the profile of the founders or business operations.

A generalist in terms of sectors, the sponsor has a track record of investing in manufacturing, TMT, software, business services, medical devices, speciality retail and renewable energy.

Livonia previously preferred acquiring controlling stakes in target companies; however, due to increasing overall market sophistication in the region, it is now more open to buying minority stakes, Utkevicius said.

Fund II's investment period will run for five years until early September 2026, Utkevicius said, adding that it is expected to be invested in around eight companies.

People
Livonia Partners – Kaido Veske, Kristīne Bērziņa, Rain Lõhmus, Mindaugas Utkevičius (partners, co-founders). 

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