Polaris merges four financial advisory firms into North

Eliza Punshi
13 April 2021

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Danish private equity firm Polaris has acquired financial advisory consultancies Contea, Jysk Pension, FinPro and Status, and created a new Danish financial adviser called North.

Lars Gundorph, who has stepped down from his role as the CEO of Willis Towers Watson, will be the group CEO of North, while Per Klitgård, who has previously worked in senior roles at Danica Pension and SEB Pension, will be the chair of the board of directors.

The GP's proprietary deal will see Polaris acquire a majority stake in the merged company alongside the owners of the four companies, who will all invest in the new partnership together with Gundorph and Klitgård.

The GP said in a statement that the four consulting companies will continue under their own names and brands for now, but will be integrated into North towards the end of 2021.

The new entity will have combined revenues of around DKK 140m and EBITDA of DKK 50m, and employ 110 people in total. It will pursue organic and acquisitive growth opportunities in the Danish market and expand into other Nordic markets in the longer term.

The deal is the third from Polaris Private Equity V, which launched in 2019 and was targeting €550m. The fund started investing this year, with the other two investments being the acquisition in March of a 57.5% stake in Danish company Sinful, an online retailer of sex toys, and the acquisition in January of ergonomic pointing devices company Contour Design.

Company
Founded in 2017 and based in Esbjerg, Contea is an insurance broking company with a special focus on medium-sized and large companies in the industry, trade, M&A, property and housing sectors, as well as the public sector, utilities and energy.

Founded in 2008 and based in Aalborg, Jysk Pension advises private companies on corporate pensions, investments and senior policies.

Founded in 2018 and based in Copenhagen, FinPro is an independent financial advisory consultancy specialised in the optimisation of financial products, payments, and terms for medium-sized and large companies, associations and private equity funds. Its remit includes redemption agreements, financing, mortgage credit, leasing, cash management, factoring and financial contracts.

Status advises homeowners, cooperative housing associations and property investors on financing and active debt management.

People
North – Lars Gundorph (group CEO); Per Klitgård (chair of the board).
Polaris – Rune Lillie Gornitzka (partner).

Advisers
Equity – Accura (legal); Deloitte (financial due diligence, tax).