Polaris et al. buy Danica Pension Sverige

The consortium also comprised Sampension and Unigestion, among other co-investors. Sampension and Unigestion are both LPs in Polaris funds.

Danica Pension Sverige is the ninth investment of Unigestion Direct Opportunities, the asset manager's direct mid-market investment vehicle.

The purchase price of around SEK 2.6bn includes a cash payment of around SEK 2.35bn; the remainder is in the form of a debt instrument from the seller. The sale is conditional on approval by the relevant authorities, with final approval expected in the first half of 2019.

Unquote understands that Polaris and Acathia will hold the largest stakes in the business. Leverage is currently being arranged and will be finalised prior to completion.

The process started in June this year and Polaris was approached by Danske Bank's corporate finance business, which was handling the sale. The process is understood to have gained traction from September onwards.

Polaris currently invests via Polaris Private Equity IV. The Danish GP closed the vehicle on DKK 3.3bn in 2016. According to Unquote Data, the vehicle was 60% deployed as of August this year.

Polaris stated it sees attractive opportunities in the Swedish pension market, with Danica in particular being well positioned given the high efficiency and scalability of its proprietary IT platform. The company is the sixth largest in its market in Sweden, with an 8.1% market share, according to the GP.

Company
Danica Pension Sverige is a full-service insurance business offering pensions, capital pensions and life insurance to retail and corporate customers in Sweden. The company was founded in 1999; it has 150,000 retail customers and 15,000 corporate customers. It increased premium payments by 39% to DKK 12.7bn in 2017 and has 60 employees.

Danica Pension is part of the Danske Bank group – the sale includes a provision whereby Danica Pension Sverige will continue its business partnership with Danske Bank on the distribution of pension products in Sweden.

People
Polaris Private Equity – Jan Dahlqvist (partner); Jan Johan Kühl (managing partner).

Advisers
Vendor - Danske Bank (M&A).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Financials
• Nordics
• Polaris Private Equity
• Denmark
• Sweden
• Co-investments