- Verdane Idun II has closed at its €700 million hard cap, more than doubling the size of its €300 million predecessor fund Idun I.
- Idun II will invest in decarbonising the economy, specifically in the areas of energy transition and resource efficiency.
- Verdane is a pioneering sustainability investor, backing 42 sustainable businesses since 2003.
- This is the firm’s third successful final fund close in 12 months.
Verdane, the European specialist growth investment firm, is pleased to announce the successful final close of Verdane Idun II (“Idun II” or “the Fund”) at its €700 million hard cap to invest in businesses within the structural growth trend of decarbonisation.
Idun funds back ambitious companies that are helping to bring about a more sustainable future as they scale. Idun II, which is classified as an “Article 9” fund under the European Union’s Sustainable Finance Directive, will invest in decarbonising the economy, specifically in the areas of energy transition and resource efficiency.
Verdane’s Idun funds invest between €20 and €100 million into 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 €1 million 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 €1.1 billion hard cap, taking Verdane’s assets under management to more than €8 billion. 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.
Verdane is a pioneering sustainability investor, backing 42 sustainable businesses since 2003. It has developed an industry-leading framework for measuring carbon avoidance, available in a whitepaper on Verdane’s website, and carries out a comprehensive sustainability assessment for all Idun portfolio companies.
Current holdings from the first Idun fund include NORNORM, which enables businesses to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions through its innovative office furniture subscription model and Scanbio, a leading producer of highly nutritious fish protein concentrates and fish oils that focuses on the upcycling of waste and allows businesses to reduce their use of resource-intensive commodities.
Idun II includes 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.
The fund was fully allocated within five months. The majority of Idun II commitments come from non-profit organisations and investors that benefit a broad segment of society.
Verdane’s LP base is increasingly international, with 29% of commitments to Idun II coming from US investors. Idun II includes investors from 13 countries.
Verdane invests thematically in leading European companies that digitalise and decarbonise the economy. Verdane has consistently invested capital in these two structural growth megatrends, backing 16 European businesses over the past 12 months with more than €600 million in capital.
Companies backed by Verdane benefit from a robust platform to support their growth. With a team of more than 150 skilled professionals, Verdane’s local presence in core European markets enables proprietary access to the region’s best technology companies.
The Verdane platform includes a proven value-creation engine, deep sector expertise, a benchmarking engine with over 100 million data points and an unparalleled ecosystem of more than 600 CXOs.
Verdane’s portfolio companies are further supported by Elevate, Verdane’s 35-strong team of in-house team of operational experts, who offer expertise in go-to-market strategy, product, technology, finance, talent and sustainability.
Frida Einarson, Partner, Investor Relations at Verdane, said: “The mobilisation of private capital at scale in 2024 to help create a more sustainable economy is a positive development for both our industry and the planet. We are grateful to welcome existing and new investors into Idun II and look forward to delivering both strong returns and positive climate impact, which they can quantify and track, for their programmes.”
Bjarne Kveim Lie, Founder and Managing Partner of Verdane, said: “With Idun II, we seek to demonstrate that it is possible to generate world-class returns for investors while making a meaningful contribution to the decarbonisation of our economy. As structural growth investors, we are convinced that the quest to decarbonise is a generational megatrend. Our goal is to be the preferred growth partner to the companies best positioned to take advantage of that trend, and to help them reach their full potential.”
“Our decarbonisation team at Verdane is now one of the largest in Europe, with 13 dedicated investment professionals. They are supported by an in-house operations team 35 strong, and benefit from the entire organisation’s deep networks and experience helping scale sustainable European growth companies over the last two decades. This enables us to not only dive deep into the structural growth trend of decarbonisation, but also to support our companies with on the ground presence across core Northern European markets to support companies in their growth. We remain humbled by the continued trust placed in us by our investors and will do our utmost to deliver against their high expectations.”
Verdane Idun II was advised by Rede Partners, an independent fundraising advisor to the private equity industry, with Andulf Advokat AB as legal counsel.
About Verdane
Verdane is an independent specialist growth investment firm that partners with tech-enabled and sustainable European businesses. Verdane can invest as a minority or majority investor, either in single companies or through portfolios of companies, and looks to invest inside two core growth themes; digitalisation and decarbonisation.
Verdane has more than €8 billion in assets under management and its funds have made over 400 investments in fast-growing businesses since 2003. Verdane’s team of over 150 investment professionals and operating experts, based out of Berlin, Munich, Copenhagen, Helsinki, London, Oslo and Stockholm, is dedicated to being the preferred growth partner to tech-enabled and sustainable businesses in Europe.
Verdane is a UN PRI signatory and also a certified B Corporation, the most ambitious sustainability accreditation globally. The firm only backs businesses that pass its 2040 test, which indicates whether the company can thrive in a more sustainable future economy. Additionally, the Verdane Foundation which is managed by the group, focuses on supporting sustainability globally and inclusion locally.
More info: www.verdane.com
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