eQ Asset Management has on 22 June 2020 closed eQ PE XII North at EUR190 million. Fund raising was launched in January 2020. As eQ’s previous Northern European focused fund raised EUR175 million in 2018, the new fund is eQ’s biggest North Europe fund so far. In addition, eQ has started investing four private equity separate accounts during the first half of 2020.
eQ PE XII North makes commitments to funds investing in unlisted, lower midmarket growth companies operating in Northern Europe. Further, the fund will commit 2/3 of its commitments to new primary funds and 1/3 of its commitments to acquire secondary positions in already existing funds to speed up capital deployment. The portfolio will be well-diversified by sector, geography and vintage.
Simultaneously, eQ has raised EUR155 million for eQ PE SF III, a fund that only acquires secondary positions in existing private equity funds. The previous secondary fund raised Euro 135 million in 2018, making also eQ PE SF III the biggest secondary vehicle in eQ’s history. The secondary allocation of eQ PE XII North is invested through eQ PE SF III.
Staffan Jåfs, Head of Private Equity at eQ Asset Management, says: ”eQ’s successful fund raising is an excellent example that investors´ interest for strong performing managers continues to be strong even during uncertain market environment. In addition, professional investors continue to increase their private equity allocations and see the opportunities that the recent Covid 19 -turbulence will create. Historically, vintages that follow market corrections have delivered outsized returns. In the primary market, we continue to back the best hard-to-access managers. In the secondary market, we expect an increase in sellers coming to market over the coming quarters causing a shift in balance from sellers’ to buyers’ market.”
