Verdane holds SEK 3bn final close for ninth fund

The GP's announcement comes shortly after unquote" had reported Verdane's filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which showed it was soliciting commitments in the US for a $200m vehicle.

Verdane's managing partner Bjarne K Lie told unquote" the GP had seen very strong demand for the fund, which is 50% larger than its predecessor. "With many potential black swans circling the global markets, investors tend to prefer more liquid positions and secondary direct positions are even more illiquid than traditional private equity," he said. "As a result, we certainly see an increased interest and focus on the opportunity for acquisitions of unlisted portfolios and the liquidity our firm can provide through them."

The fund will target 2x net returns for its LPs, follows industry standard terms and conditions, and is domiciled in Sweden.

Fundraising began in February, led by placement agent Rede Partners and with advice from Stockholm-based law firm Andulf Advokat.

The fund is structured as a Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) debenture fund, as sanctioned by the US Small Business Administration.

Investment
Verdane Capital IX will follow the strategy of its predecessors, investing in portfolios of unlisted assets, in addition to making growth investments in single unlisted assets. Around a third of the fund's investments will be direct investments, with the remainder being portfolio acquisitions, according to Lie.

He said the new fund would not veer from its tried-and-tested strategy and commit similar amounts of capital to a larger amount of transactions, given the new fund's size. Verdane will retain its focus on small- and medium-sized growth companies.

The fund will also offer co-investment opportunities to its LPs.

Investors
More than 30 LPs committed capital to Verdane Capital IX, including pension funds, endowments, private foundations, high-net-worth individuals, family offices and insurance companies.

A majority of investors in Verdane Capital VIII re-upped in the GP's most recent vehicle, which also attracted new US and European investors, according to Lie. The fund's backers are made up of Nordic, European and US investors.

LPs in Verdane's previous fund included the European Investment Fund, Finnish Industry Investment, Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company and the Third Swedish National Pension Fund.

The new fund will solicit investments in Illinois, Virginia, New York, Georgia, Ohio, California, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. According to unquote" data, LPs in those states with previous commitments to Nordic private equity funds include Calpers, CalSTRS, New York City Employees' Retirement System, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois and The Northern Trust.

People
Verdane Capital – Bjarne K Lie (managing partner).
Rede Partners – Alastair Baird (senior associate).

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• Topics
• Fundraising
• Buyout
• Nordics
• Verdane Capital Partners
• Direct secondary