Verdane closes Edda II fund at hard cap with EUR540m to invest in Northern European technology-enabled growth companies

Verdane, the Northern European specialist growth equity investor, is pleased to announce that it has held a final close on Verdane Edda II (“Edda II” or “the Fund”), a fund investing in technology-enabled businesses, at its EUR540 million hard cap. Edda II brings the total committed capital across Verdane’s nine Funds to over EUR3 billion.

Verdane is one of the most active growth investors in the region, recognised as a specialist in helping scale digital consumer, software and energy and resource efficiency businesses. Edda II was significantly oversubscribed and received strong investor support, with over 90 per cent of its committed capital coming from a diversified group of existing investors across Europe, North America and the Middle East.

“With Edda II, we are pleased to strengthen Verdane’s ability to provide minority and majority investments from EUR10-150 million and above in growth businesses across Northern Europe.  We are looking to partner with ambitious tech-enabled firms who believe they can benefit from our sector knowledge, extensive networks and entrepreneurial mindset,” says Henrik Aspén, Partner at Verdane.

Over 50 per cent of the Fund’s committed capital comes from non-profit sources. The Fund holds commitments from leading global university endowments, foundations, insurance companies, family offices, government agencies as well as private and public pension funds.

The Fund has already made two initial investments, in Hornetsecurity, a leading European provider of cloud-based email security and data protection, and Stratsys, a cloud-based strategic planning platform.

Verdane’s Edda and Capital Funds partner with category-leading, Northern European growth businesses operating in SDG-aligned markets. All investments made by the Funds are supported by at least one of three macroeconomically resilient megatrends: The Digital Consumer, Software Everywhere and Sustainable Society.

Verdane’s specialised investment focus has made it the growth partner of choice to over 120 of Northern Europe’s fastest growing businesses since 2003. On average, Verdane companies have more than doubled revenues between entry and exit, and grown EBITDA by close to 300%. To date, Verdane Funds have delivered realised investment returns of 3x invested capital.

“The pandemic has moved the world from bricks to clicks and highlighted the urgency of creating sustainable global societies. The digital consumer, software and energy and resource efficiency businesses that Verdane partners with have benefited from this as the megatrends that underpin our portfolio’s growth have accelerated greatly during the new normal. In a tough macroeconomic climate, we are proud that the businesses we back continue to provide employment opportunities across Northern Europe while creating great returns for our investors. We extend our warmest thanks to our investors for their continued support”, says Bjarne Kveim Lie, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Verdane.

Verdane’s team of over 60 specialist investment professionals and operating experts is one of Northern Europe’s most experienced teams, providing a differentiated globalised yet localised approach to value creation through integrated, vertical-focused teams across Northern Europe. Verdane’s ability to combine its business building expertise with superior local insight is complemented by Elevate, Verdane’s 14-strong in-house team of operating experts that provide strategic and operational support on high-priority growth initiatives from go-to-market to operations.

Verdane Edda II was advised by London-based Rede Partners, an independent fundraising and secondary advisor to the private equity industry, and Andulf Advokat, a Stockholm-based boutique law firm specialising in private equity.