Verdane, the European specialist growth buyout investment firm, today announced the successful closing of a €635 million multi-asset continuation vehicle (CV). The fund enables the extension of Verdane’s investment horizon and capital availability for Arrive Group, the largest asset in the CV, alongside Talentech and Pet Media Group. Coller Capital is the sole lead investor in the CV.
Bjarne Kveim Lie, Founder and Managing Partner at Verdane, said: “Arrive Group, Talentech and Pet Media Group are companies that we know well, and that have already generated strong returns for our investors. Our partnership with Arrive alone already spans more than a decade, and we are as excited about the road ahead as we have ever been. This new fund gives us the time and capital to help these businesses reach their full potential.”
Carl Nauckhoff, Partner and Chief Commercial Officer at Verdane, said: “This transaction reflects the quality of the three businesses and our approach to active ownership. Coller’s deep expertise in the secondary market and their long-term perspective made them the ideal partner for a transaction of this nature. We are grateful for the strong interest received from high-quality institutional investors, which resulted in significant oversubscription. The CV allows us to continue investing behind businesses we know deeply, while providing existing investors with a meaningful liquidity option.”
Martin Fleischer, Partner at Coller Capital, said: “This is exactly the kind of opportunity Coller looks to back. We are proud to lead a portfolio anchored by Arrive Group, an asset that has been a clear winner for Verdane over more than a decade and continues to compound, alongside two further high-quality assets in Talentech and Pet Media Group. The flexibility of our mandate allowed us to underwrite the full multi-asset portfolio as sole lead, reinforcing Coller’s track record of partnering with blue-chip Nordic managers on their best assets.”
Lazard acted as financial adviser, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Andulf Advokat acted as legal advisers to Verdane. Akin Gump acted as legal adviser to Coller Capital.
