Verdane welcomes four new holdings in Germany

Verdane, the Northern European specialist growth equity investor, has bolstered its activities in Germany with four new investments in the last six weeks: Meister, premiumXL and REMEMBER as well as another transaction yet to be communicated. The total number of investments supported by Verdane’s local team in Berlin rises to a dozen, and underscores the importance of the German market as a vital pillar in Verdane’s growth strategy.

The three investments announced today were all financed with funds from the Edda II Fund, which closed in January 2021 at its hard cap of EUR 540 million. Verdane funds can invest as a minority or majority investor, either in single companies or through portfolios of companies with tickets ranging from EUR 10 to 150 million and above. In total, Verdane funds have over EUR 3 billion in committed capital. According to industry databases such as Pitchbook, Verdane has been named one of the most active investors in technology-enabled, high-growth companies in Northern Europe, with recognised expertise in scaling business models revolving around digital consumers, software, and sustainable society.

Maroje Guertl, Principal in Verdane’s Berlin office, said: “The momentum of our current activities in Germany underscores the importance of our local presence and confirms that opening our Berlin office over two years ago was the right step to convince entrepreneurs of our approach. The high deal frequency also shows us that, apart from the experience of our team, the demand for growth financing has also drastically expanded for companies in Germany. We are excited to now be partnering with four outstanding companies, Meister, premiumXL, REMEMBER as well as one yet to be announced investment, and supporting them in their further development with our team’s operational expertise.”

Meister, one of Europe’s first and largest providers of collaboration tools for the workplace with offices in Vienna, Munich and Seattle, has raised growth financing as part of a USD 52 million transaction led by Verdane, consisting of both primary and secondary capital. With its intuitive product suite, Meister has gained over 25 million users globally.

Michael Hollauf, co-founder and CEO of Meister, said: “We are very happy that Verdane shares our vision of modern work and that we will now continue to write Meister’s success story together. With our Meister Suite consisting of MindMeister, MeisterTask and MeisterNote, we want to offer a modern all-in-one solution for a better, more productive workflow in teams and enterprises, and fundamentally change communications in an increasingly digital global workplace.”

Verdane acquired a majority holding in premiumXL, an Osnabrück-based online provider of affordable products in the Home & Living segments. The company distributes its products through more than 25 different online marketplaces – including major platforms like Amazon, eBay and Otto – in 20 countries as well as its own online shop.

Hermann Tiben, founder and CEO of premiumXL, said: “Verdane has many years of experience in successfully supporting the growth of e-commerce companies, and I am convinced that both we and our customers will benefit from the partnership. Having experienced strong growth in recent years already, we will expand our business further in existing markets, develop new markets, and more strongly address the growing demand for sustainable products.”

Verdane’s latest investment is a majority shareholding in KF Design GmbH, a manufacturer of designer and gift articles that are sold under the REMEMBER brand, based in Krefeld. The investment enables REMEMBER to push on with the digital transformation of its business model, which will focus on the continued development and internationalisation of the online shop with expanded functions. In addition, it is planned to strengthen customer experience via digital channels and to intensify interactions, as well as to further expand the sustainability of the product range.

Ingo Fremer, co-founder and co-CEO of REMEMBER, said: “We are delighted to have one of Northern Europe’s investors with the greatest experience in the area of e-commerce on board now with Verdane. I am convinced that this digital competence will be of real benefit for our company as well as our customers.”