Verdane Capital acquires Ferd portfolio

The secondaries direct specialist used its eighth vehicle, Verdane Capital VIII, to finance the transaction. The fund closed on its target of SEK 2bn in June 2014, having been in fundraising mode for 12 months.

Ferd decided to sell the five businesses in order to focus on investments in larger and more mature companies. Verdane looks to invest in companies in the technology and energy sectors, and stated that it will use its existing knowledge base and network to grow the companies.

Ferd and Verdane have worked together previously, having conducted a joint investment in Nacre in 2005. They sold the intelligent hearing systems company two years later in a trade sale, which, according to unquote" data, netted the investors a 15x cash return and valued Nacre at $135m.

Since 2003, Verdane has acquired 22 portfolios with stakes in more than 250 companies.

Company
Founded in 2003 by Jens Christophersen and Thomas Jørgensen, Napatech is a Danish company that manufactures network adapters. It has more than 100 employees worldwide.

Eniram is headquartered in Helsinki and has offices in the UK, the US, Germany and Singapore, with more than 70 employees worldwide. The company provides software systems that assists vessels to reduce fuel consumption.

Aspiro is a Swedish company that delivers its subscription-based streaming service, WiMP Music, through direct B2C sales channels, as well as through telecoms and cable partners. It also operates a video content syndication platform.

The names of the other two companies remain undisclosed for the time being.

People
Lars B Thoresen is a managing partner at Verdane. Trond Solberg is an investment director at Ferd.

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