European growth investment firm Verdane has held the final close of Verdane Idun II, an Article 9 fund under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Directive, which will invest in businesses within the structural growth trend of decarbonisation, at its hard cap of €700m.
The new fund will focus specifically on areas of energy transition and resource efficiency, and invest between €20m and €100m in sustainable businesses. All investments made from Idun II pass strict sustainability criteria to measure their positive environmental impact such as a carbon avoidance target of a minimum of 5,000 tonnes of CO2 avoided per €1m invested.
This is in addition to Verdane’s proprietary ‘2040 test,’ established to ensure that Verdane only invests in businesses positioned to succeed in a sustainable economy. Further information is available in Verdane’s latest 2023 sustainability report.
Earlier this year, Verdane successfully closed its mid-market growth buyout fund Edda III at its €1.1bn hard cap, taking firm-wide assets under management to more than €8bn. The third fund family, Freya, has a more than 20-year track record and is currently investing out of its Freya XI fund with a highly differentiated, versatile mandate of investing in both direct portfolios and single companies.
Idun II attracted commitments from leading investors including: Nysnø Climate Investments, Norway’s state climate investment fund; Banque de Luxembourg; the European Investment Fund; MN, a provider of fiduciary management services for Dutch industry pension funds; Finnish capital investments company Tesi and Carbon Equity, which enables private and professional investors to invest in a diversified portfolio of the world’s best climate funds.
Other investors in Idun II include global private and public pension funds, leading university endowments, foundations, insurance companies, and family offices.
Verdane Idun II was advised by Rede Partners, an independent fundraising advisor to the private equity industry, with Andulf Advokat AB as legal counsel.
