Verdane closes oversubscribed Capital XI at €1.1 billion hard cap

• Verdane Capital XI has closed at its €1.1 billion hard cap, almost doubling the size of its predecessor fund which closed at €610 million. 
• The oversubscribed Fund received strong support from new and existing investors, including a re-up rate of more than 100%.
• Verdane will continue to partner with European growth companies, investing thematically in digitalisation and decarbonisation.

Verdane, the European specialist growth investment firm, is pleased to announce the successful final close of Verdane Capital XI (“Capital XI”, “Freya XI*” or “the Fund”) at its hard cap of €1.1 billion, almost doubling the size of its predecessor fund. 

This fundraise allows Verdane to continue addressing the growth funding gap in Europe. The World Economic Forum estimates that 70% of the new value created in the whole economy over the next ten years will be digitally enabled. Verdane’s largest portfolio companies alone have already created well over 13,300 jobs during their holding period, highlighting the importance of private capital to Europe’s economy. With this fundraise, Verdane will continue to partner with European growth companies that are digitalising and decarbonising the economy. The firm only backs companies that pass Verdane’s proprietary ‘2040 test’, meaning they will thrive in a more sustainable future economy. Verdane always supports portfolio companies to improve their ESG credentials, aiming to exit a business that’s more sustainable than when Verdane first invested.

Verdane can take majority or minority positions in either single companies or portfolios of companies, investing between €20 – €150+ million in equity tickets. With one of Europe’s most flexible investment mandates, Verdane can leverage deep thematic expertise to invest in Europe’s most ambitious growth companies, with a genuine partnership mindset. Verdane has invested in more than 300 companies to date, including notable successes such as Forsta, Momox and Nomentia. On average, investments have grown more than 20% year on year and realised gross returns of 3.8x and an IRR of 60% across the Verdane platform, which is comprised of its Edda, Idun and Capital funds.

Companies backed by Verdane benefit from deep sector expertise, a proven value-creation engine, an unparalleled ecosystem of people and over 80 million data points to support scaling. Verdane’s portfolio companies are further supported by Elevate, Verdane’s in-house team of operational experts, with dedicated expertise in every function needed to support scaling growth companies, including data and technology, finance and go-to-market strategy. With a team of 130+ investment professionals and operational experts, Verdane’s local presence in core European markets enables access to the region’s best technology companies.

The firm’s regional presence with seven local offices also supports Verdane’s partnership approach, creating close alignment between Verdane and management teams to elevate regional market leaders to the global stage. In 2021’s record-high year for investment in European digitalisation, US firms accounted for more than half of the investments made; this US funding has sharply declined since the rise in inflation, highlighting the importance of local European investors to fill the growth funding gap, building stronger relationships, enabling better alignment, and identifying opportunities.

Capital XI was oversubscribed with commitments from private and public pension funds, leading global university endowments, foundations, insurance companies, family offices and government agencies from 21 countries. The fund received strong support from existing investors with over 100% re-up rate from its predecessor fund, which closed at €610 million, based on committed capital. A significant proportion of Capital XI’s capital commitments came from non-profit organisations.

Frida Einarson, Partner and Head of Investor Relations at Verdane, said: “The significant investor interest in Verdane reflects the relevance of our thematic investment approach and our financial performance to date; this was recently recognised by the HEC-Dow Jones global ranking, which named Verdane the top performing mid-market investor in Europe in 2022. We are grateful for the strong backing from our global investor base, which includes many long term supporters. We look forward to nurturing these investor partnerships and delivering strong returns.”

Bjarne Kveim Lie, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Verdane, said: “At Verdane, we are on a quest to help sustain and accelerate the growth of ambitious companies that help digitalise and decarbonise Europe’s economy. We offer a unique value proposition to our companies through our in-house functional experts and ecosystem, and offer hands on expertise to help companiesto grow their organisations, create jobs and secure sustainable market leadership. We are often told by LPs and management teams that our collaborative no nonsense and entrepreneurial culture sets Verdane apart. I believe this, combined with our flexible partnership approach, deep sector expertise and growth-enabling ecosystem, is the reason we have been able to evolve into a European mid-market growth leader. We thank our investors for their continued trust and support, and will do our utmost to deliver against their high expectations.”

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

Notes to editors

*Going forward, the Verdane Capital funds will be referred to as Verdane Freya, in reference to the Nordic goddess of love and beauty, hence Verdane Capital XI will be known as Verdane Freya XI. This change does not reflect a change in strategy, but is made to align naming across Verdane’s funds and to pay tribute to Verdane’s Nordic roots with fund names originating in Norse mythology.