The Nordic VC firm Verdane announced today the closing of Verdane Edda, with almost €300 million of commitments from investors. The new fund will help build fast-growing companies within software, consumer internet and more traditional sectors where digitalisation can be a key driver of success.
Bjarne Lie, Managing Partner at Verdane, stated: “Verdane has significant experience supporting management teams in accelerating and sustaining growth, especially where digitalisation is a key driver. Verdane funds have invested in over 170 companies within software and consumer internet over the last 15 years, and we now look forward to harnessing our extensive expertise with Verdane Edda. The new fund further strengthens our position as the leading pan-Nordic investor in our target segments.”
Verdane Advisory Group has 30 employees working out of offices in Copenhagen, Helsinki, London, Oslo and Stockholm. The new fund will invest in high-growth companies in the Nordics and will generally aim to take controlling stakes in single companies, but minority positions may also be relevant. The fund will target individual investments reaching up to €50 million.
“Verdane funds act as ambitious, active owners, helping local companies become regional champions, or Nordic firms become global,” adds Henrik Aspén, Group Partner at Verdane. He continues: “Our advisory team has been strengthened with key hires, Jakob Tolleryd and Johnny Rindahl, who are experts in e-commerce and software respectively. Together they add to our pan-Nordic team’s unrivalled technology sector capabilities and proven track record in driving business value.”
Verdane has helped core companies of Verdane Capital funds achieve revenue growth of over 90% on average during the funds’ ownership period. Verdane promotes network building and knowledge sharing between Verdane fund investments, through peer to peer mentoring, CEO days on key topics and regular sector luncheons to discuss challenges and share best practices.
Verdane Edda was heavily oversubscribed and closed at its hard cap, with 60% of investors coming from outside the Nordic region. The fund received commitments from leading global university endowments, foundations, insurance companies, family offices, government agencies, as well as private and public pension funds. Over 50% of the capital was from non-profit investors.
