Verdane closes Edda III past target at €1.1 billion, bringing the firm’s total funds closed in the last 6 months to €2.2 billion

• Verdane Edda III has closed significantly past its target at €1.1 billion, doubling its predecessor fund Edda II. This is the firm’s second successful fund close in six months, following the announcement of Verdane Freya XI at €1.1 billion in September 2023. 
• Verdane’s proven platform has attracted an increasingly global LP base, with US investors comprising 25% of Edda III commitments. 
• 68% of LPs from Verdane’s 2003 debut fund are investors in current funds, backing Verdane’s thematic investment focus on European companies digitalising and decarbonising the economy. 

Verdane, the European specialist growth investment firm, is pleased to announce the successful final close of Verdane Edda III (“Edda III” or “the Fund”) at €1.1 billion, significantly past its target. In the past six months, Verdane has successfully closed two funds above target, together totalling €2.2 billion, including the €1.1 billion Freya XI fund which held its final close in September 2023. 

Verdane funds partner with ambitious growth companies that help digitalise and decarbonise the European economies. Current holdings include: CAIA Cosmetics, one of Northern Europe’s fastest-growing beauty brands; Evondos, the leader in automated medicine dispensing services for elderly home care clients, and Hornetsecurity, a market leader providing cloud based cybersecurity services to business customers worldwide. 

The Edda series of funds have already made three successful realisations, including Kappa Bioscience to Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) in 2022 and HYMA to BHG Group (LSE:0SOM) in 2021. 

Edda III includes commitments from private and public pension funds, leading global university endowments, foundations, insurance companies and family offices. 40% of Edda III commitments come from non-profit organisations. 

68% of LPs from Verdane’s first fund established in 2003 continue to back current Verdane funds. Verdane’s LP base is increasingly international, with 25% of commitments to Edda III coming from US investors. Across all Verdane funds, 70% of LPs are now headquartered outside of the Nordics.

Verdane will continue to invest thematically in leading European companies that help digitalise and decarbonise the economy. Verdane has consistently deployed capital in these two structural growth megatrends, backing 19 leading European businesses over the past 12 months. Verdane’s largest portfolio companies alone have already created well over 13,300 jobs during their holding period.  

Verdane invests between €20 and €150+ million in equity tickets. With the most flexible mandate in the market, Verdane funds can take majority or minority positions, or act as liquidity provider to owners of unlisted portfolios. Companies backed by Verdane benefit from a robust platform to support their growth. The Verdane platform includes a proven value-creation engine, deep sector expertise, a benchmarking engine with over 100 million data points and an unparalleled ecosystem of 600+ CXOs. Verdane’s portfolio companies are further supported by Elevate, Verdane’s in-house team of operational experts, who offer dedicated expertise in go-to-market strategy, product, technology, finance, talent and sustainability. With a team of more than 140 skilled professionals, Verdane’s local presence in core European markets enables proprietary access to the region’s best technology companies.  

Frida Einarson, Partner and Head of Investor Relations at Verdane, said: “Verdane’s ability to close two funds past target in six months, raising over €2.2 billion, is testament to our longstanding dialogues and relationships with our LPs. We are grateful for the strong backing from our LP base. The Verdane platform, our thematic focus and proven value creation recipe have enabled us to consistently deliver strong financial returns to our investors, and we will endeavour to continue doing so.” 

Bjarne Kveim Lie, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Verdane, said: “There has never been a better time to partner with ambitious companies that seek to digitise and decarbonise the European economy. We’re immensely proud to be pioneers in our field and of our 20-year track record. The close of the Edda III fund cements our position as a European mid-market growth leader. Verdane investors value our relentless focus on long term structural growth trends, our north star of being the preferred partner and our combination of deep local networks and world-class thematic knowledge. We are humbled by the continued trust placed in us by our investors and will do our utmost to deliver against their high expectations.” 

Verdane Edda III was advised by Rede Partners, an independent fundraising advisor to the private equity industry, with Andulf Advokat AB as legal counsel.