Verdane – a European specialist growth investment firm – recently announced the successful final close of Verdane Capital XI at its hard cap of €1.1 billion, almost doubling the size of the predecessor fund. This fundraise enables Verdane to continue addressing the growth funding gap in Europe. And The World Economic Forum estimates that 70% of the new value created in the whole economy over the next ten years will be digitally enabled.
Verdane’s largest portfolio companies have already created well over 13,300 jobs during the holding period, highlighting the importance of private capital to Europe’s economy. And with this fundraise, Verdane will continue to partner with European growth companies that are digitalizing and decarbonizing the economy.
Verdane backs companies that pass its proprietary ‘2040 test,’ meaning they will thrive in a more sustainable future economy. And Verdane always supports portfolio companies to improve their ESG credentials, aiming to exit a more sustainable business than when Verdane first invested.
Verdane can take majority or minority positions in either single companies or portfolios of companies, investing between €20 million to €150+ million. And with one of Europe’s most flexible investment mandates, Verdane can utilize deep thematic expertise to invest in Europe’s most ambitious growth companies with a genuine partnership mindset.
Verdane has invested in over 300 companies, including notable successes such as Forsta, Momox and Nomentia. And on average, investments have grown more than 20% year on year and realized gross returns of 3.8x and an IRR of 60% across the Verdane platform, which comprises its Edda, Idun, and Capital funds.
Companies backed by Verdane benefit from deep sector expertise, a proven value-creation engine, an unparalleled ecosystem of people, and over 80 million data points to support scaling. And Verdane’s portfolio companies are further supported by Elevate – Verdane’s in-house team of operational experts, with dedicated expertise in every function needed to support scaling growth companies, including data and technology, finance, and go-to-market strategy. And with a team of over 130 investment professionals and operational experts, Verdane’s local presence in core European markets enables access to the region’s best technology companies.
Verdane’s regional presence with seven local offices also supports Verdane’s partnership approach – which creates close alignment between the firm and management teams to elevate regional market leaders to the global stage. And in 2021’s record-high year for investment in European digitalization, US firms accounted for over half of the investments made. The US funding has sharply declined since the rise in inflation, highlighting the importance of local European investors to fill the growth funding gap, building stronger relationships, enabling better alignment, and identifying opportunities.
Capital XI was oversubscribed with commitments from private and public pension funds, leading global university endowments, foundations, insurance companies, family offices, and government agencies from 21 countries. And the fund received strong support from existing investors with more than 100% re-up rate from its predecessor fund, which closed at €610 million, based on committed capital. Plus, many of Capital XI’s capital commitments came from non-profit organizations.
KEY QUOTES:
“The significant investor interest in Verdane reflects the relevance of our thematic investment approach and our financial performance to date; this was recently recognized by the HEC-Dow Jones global ranking, which named Verdane the top-performing mid-market investor in Europe in 2022. We are grateful for the strong backing from our global investor base, which includes many long-term supporters. We look forward to nurturing these investor partnerships and delivering strong returns.”
— Frida Einarson, Partner and Head of Investor Relations at Verdane
“At Verdane, we are on a quest to help sustain and accelerate the growth of ambitious companies that help digitalize and decarbonize Europe’s economy. We offer a unique value proposition to our companies through our in-house functional experts and ecosystem, and offer hands-on expertise to help companies to grow their organizations, create jobs, and secure sustainable market leadership. We are often told by LPs and management teams that our collaborative, no-nonsense, and entrepreneurial culture sets Verdane apart. I believe this, combined with our flexible partnership approach, deep sector expertise and growth-enabling ecosystem, is the reason we have been able to evolve into a European mid-market growth leader. We thank our investors for their continued trust and support, and will do our utmost to deliver against their high expectations.”
— Bjarne Kveim Lie, Co-Founder and Managing Partner
