Verdane portfolio company Desenio goes public in Nordics’ largest ever e-commerce listing

Verdane, the Northern European specialist growth equity investor, is pleased to announce that it has sold half of Verdane Capital IX’s majority shareholding in Desenio Group AB (the “Company” or “Desenio”), the Stockholm-based global online provider of affordable, high-quality wall art, in a private placement followed by a listing of the company’s shares on the NASDAQ First North Growth Market valuing Desenio at SEK11bn (roughly EUR 1.1bn).

Henrik Aspén, Partner at Verdane, said: “As a leading online provider of wall art across the globe, Desenio’s success is helping make great design available in the way that Nordic forebears like IKEA and H&M did for their respective markets. We offer our warmest congratulations the entire Desenio team on this momentous occasion, and look forward to continue working together to pursue the next phase of Desenio’s growth as we build its global presence.”

Verdane first partnered with Desenio in 2016 to support the Company’s expansion through a combination of organic and acquisitive growth. During Verdane’s holding period, Desenio has achieved an organic net sales CAGR of 76 per cent between 2016 and 2020, increasing net sales from SEK100m at the time of Verdane’s investment to 2020 pro forma net sales of SEK1.3bn when including the acquisition of Poster Store as if it were completed on 1 January 2020. Since 2016, Desenio has increased its number of active customers from 170,000 to 2.3m, expanding its coverage from eight local web shops to shipping to over 35 countries, and increasing its percentage of sales generated outside the Nordics from less than 10 per cent to more than 75 per cent as of year-end 2020. In 2020, Desenio acquired Poster Store, an international online retailer of design posters, strategically expanding its operations across Europe, the U.S. and Asia.

Fredrik Palm, CEO of Desenio, said: “From only being present in the Nordics some five years ago, we have successfully scaled our strong value proposition and direct-to-consumer business model throughout Europe and beyond. Despite our strong profitable growth to date, we are still only scratching the surface. On behalf of the Desenio team, I express our thanks to Verdane for a rewarding partnership as we set out together to continue our mission of helping people everywhere create beautiful homes through affordable wall art.”

Reported as one of Sweden’s most profitable e-commerce companies by Swedish business press, Desenio’s private placement was oversubscribed by investors, helping it to become the Nordics’ largest ever e-commerce listing. Verdane will retain half its shareholding in the company and remains the company’s largest shareholder by a significant margin, committed to continuing to support Desenio’s growth.

Verdane is one of Europe’s most active specialist e-commerce investors, with a track record in the sector dating back to 2005. Its current portfolio of 20 e-commerce businesses have aggregated annual revenues exceeding EUR1.2bn. Verdane’s e-commerce portfolio include asgoodasnew, Bildeler.no, CAIA Cosmetics, Desenio, Farmasiet, Hylte Jakt & Lantman, MatHem, momox, Pet Media Group, and Once Upon.

Verdane Capital IX is a SEK3.1bn 2016-vintage fund.