The Institutional Restructuring Unit (IRU) of Dresdner Bank has reached an agreement with Coller Capital to sell a private equity portfolio consisting of various North American investments across the capital structure of 22 different companies. The companies are mainly based in the United States and operate in a diverse range of business sectors. The sale price of USD 90 million was structured to meet both parties’ objectives and final closing is expected no later than the end of the year. Coller Capital’s fourth fund with commitments of USD 2.6 billion is the world’s largest private equity secondaries fund. Its advised funds currently own interests in more than 2000 companies worldwide.
“The sale is one more successful step in reducing the Bank’s exposures to non-strategic assets,” says Jan E. Kvarnström, CEO of IRU and member of the Dresdner Bank Board of Managing Directors. “We believe that the price achieved is full and fair and in line with our targets. The highly complex transaction structure has been executed in a professional manner by our private equity team and Coller Capital.”
Jeremy Coller, CEO of Coller Capital, commented: “We are delighted that upon closure, this transaction will be the eighth management spin out that we have completed recently. Our considerable experience of purchasing direct private equity assets and dealing with their related transition issues was essential to the success of this purchase.”
Since the beginning of 2003, the IRU has reduced the non-strategic loan and private equity exposures of the Bank from Euro 35.5 billion to Euro 13.5 billion (as of June 30, 2004). The remaining private equity exposures amount to about Euro 900 million.
