Verdane X closes on SEK 6bn hard-cap

Like its predecessor, Verdane X will invest in northern European technology companies by acquiring majority and minority stakes in both single companies and portfolios.

The fund was registered and launched in August 2018 and was fully allocated in four months, Unquote understands. The final close was delayed until January to accomodate the time constraints of existing investors.

Verdane IX held a final close on SEK 3bn in July 2016 and was 50% deployed by March 2018, according to Unquote Data. The fund has some dry powder for follow-on investments in its existing portfolio but will not make any further new acquisitions, Unquote understands.

The GP has since raised a dedicated buyout fund, Verdane Edda, which held a final close on SEK 3bn in March 2018.

London-based placement agent Rede Partners acted as independent fundraising adviser for the vehicle and Swedish law firm Andulf Advokat provided legal advice.

Investors
The fund received commitments from global university endowments, foundations, insurance companies, family offices and government agencies, as well as private and public pension funds from 11 countries, according to a press release. More than half of the capital came from non-profit investors.

Verdane Capital IX attracted a SEK 300m commitment from Swedish pension fund AP3 and €9.8m each from Norwegian fund-of-funds Argentum and Finnish sovereign wealth fund Tesi.

Investments
The fund will target northern European technology companies operating in the software, consumer internet, energy technology and advanced industrial sectors. It targets companies with SEK 50-500m revenues, and acquires majority and minority stakes either by investing in them directly or through portfolio acquisitions.

It has made two portfolio acquisitions already and gained stakes in Momox, a German re-commerce company, and Hive Streaming, a Swedish enterprise video distribution company, as a result.

People
Verdane Capital – Bjarne Lie (managing partner).

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