Coller Capital becomes largest SVG shareholder

Coller Capital has invested £50m to become the largest shareholder of listed fund SVG Capital. The investment was part of a £70m private placement, with shares offered at £1 each.

The investment equates to a stake of 23.9% in SVG, which has a market capitalisation of just over £200m. Coller's stake could be diluted to between 14-19% depending on results of a £139m rights issue, which is reserved for existing investors, meaning Coller is banned.

Coller's move has prompted speculation that it may attempt to take the fund private in the near future, or acquire its assets, as it did previously with its $50m investment in Prelude Trust.

SVG's capital raising is aimed at rectifying the imbalance between its cash reserves and anticipated capital calls in Permira's EUR11.1bn fund, to which SVG originally committed £2bn. SVG is the largest investor in Pemira.

In December, Permira moved to allow its LPs a reduction of their commitments by up to 40%, with this helping SVG to prevent defaulting. SVG previously experienced write-downs on its investments and high levels of debt on its balance sheet.

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