Verdane, the lower mid-market European investment firm, is pleased to announce the successful final close of Verdane Freya XII (“Freya XII” or the “Fund”) at its €2 billion hard cap.
Marking the largest fund in Verdane’s 22-year history, the close of Freya XII brings the total amount of capital raised by Verdane since inception to €9 billion.
Freya XII is more than 70% larger than its predecessor fund, reflecting the attractive market outlook, highly differentiated strategy and strong historical performance.
Approximately 80% of Freya XII commitments came from existing Verdane investors. This strong re-up rate highlights both the attractive positioning of Verdane and specifically the Freya fund.
Freya XII secured new commitments from leading global non-profit organisations, public pension funds, university endowments, foundations, insurance companies and family offices. The fundraise was completed less than six months after the fund’s first closing.
Verdane’s LP base continues to broaden internationally, with participation in the fund coming from investors across 18 countries and 24% of commitments coming from US investors.
The close of Freya XII follows an active 2025 to date for Verdane. Realisations so far this year include the sale of Hornetsecurity to Proofpoint, the sale of Danelec to GTT and the partial realisations of Voyado to Viking Global and Lumene to Creades.
Verdane anticipates significant deal flow in the coming years as it continues to invest in European growth leaders leveraging its thematic approach and its local network, drawing on its seven offices across Europe. Investments will continue to be a combination of majority buyouts and significant minority stakes in companies.
With 180 professionals, Verdane is one of the most complete investment groups in the European lower mid market. Elevate, the in-house team of more than 30 operational experts, is exclusively applied to Verdane’s portfolio companies to help sustain and accelerate growth.
Bjarne Kveim Lie, Founder and Managing Partner of Verdane, said:“The growing number and quality of technology-enabled growth businesses in Europe we see in our pipeline makes me optimistic about both the prospects for the European economy and for the potential returns for our investors. With Freya XII, we’ll continue to leverage our unique combination of world-class thematic expertise, deep local networks and the most flexible mandate in the market to become the preferred partner to ambitious European growth businesses.”
“We are humbled by the continued trust placed in us by some of the leading global investors and will do our utmost to deliver against their high expectations.”
Carl Nauckhoff, Partner and Chief Commercial Officer at Verdane, said: “We’re proud to have retained the trust of our existing partners and to welcome a number of new, global investors. Freya XII will allow us to continue to make significant further investments in our in-house talent, systems and technology to drive value in our investments.”
About Verdane
Verdane is a specialist growth buyout investment firm that partners with tech-enabled and sustainable businesses that help to digitalise and decarbonise the European economy. The flexible mandates of Verdane funds allow it to invest as a majority or minority control investor, replacement or growth capital, in single companies or in portfolios of companies.
Verdane has raised €9 billion in capital and its funds have made more than 200 investments in fast-growing businesses since 2003. Verdane’s team of over 150 investment professionals and operating experts is based out of Berlin, Copenhagen, London, Helsinki, Munich, Oslo and Stockholm, and combines deep sector expertise with long-standing local networks and presence in core European markets.
Verdane is also a certified B Corporation, the most ambitious sustainability accreditation globally. The firm only backs businesses that pass its 2040 test, which indicates whether the company can thrive in a more sustainable future economy.
Verdane is partly owned by the Verdane Foundation, which is focused on two areas: climate change and more equitable and inclusive local communities.
