Strong Finnish Appetite for Private Equity

Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Finnish asset manager eQ Asset Management held the first closing of a new fund of equity funds at €126 million on January 24, according to a press release. The fundraising for the new eQ PE XII North fund will continue over the next few months, aiming for €200 million in commitments at its final closing in June.

eQ is a Finnish asset manager investing in private equity funds, currently managing over 20 funds of funds and client portfolios. “Investors continue to increase their allocation to private equity,” says Staffan Jåfs, Head of Private Equity at eQ Asset Management. “A growing number of investors in Finland choose to partner with eQ in building their private equity portfolios systematically and consistently over time.”

eQ PE XII North invests in private equity funds that focus on unlisted small- and mid-sized growth companies in Northern Europe. The new fund will make direct primary commitments, as well as selected secondary transactions to speed up capital deployment. Secondary fund investments involve buying pre-existing investor commitments to private equity funds. eQ PE XII North aims to be fully invested during 2020-2021 and targets to allocate about one-third of overall commitments to secondaries.

eQ also held the first closing of its third private equity secondary fund, called eQ PE SF III, at €75 million. The eQ PE XII North fund’s allocation to secondaries will be conducted entirely through eQ PE SF III. The new secondary fund is expected to be fully invested by the end of 2021 and targets €150 million in commitments.

“Our private equity team, with over 90 years of combined manager selection experience, is one of the most senior PE teams in Northern Europe,” comments the Head of Private Equity at eQ Asset Management. “Our secondary markets activity has become increasingly recognized in recent years, and our new fund marks already our third vehicle for this investment strategy,” concludes Jåfs.

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