Verdane to invest SEK 3 billion in Nordic high-growth companies

Stockholm — Verdane announced today the closing of Verdane Edda, with SEK 3 billion of commitments from investors. The fund will help build fast-growing companies within software, consumer internet and more traditional sectors where digitalisation can be a key driver of success.

“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,” says Bjarne Lie, Managing Partner at Verdane.

Verdane Edda will invest in high-growth companies in the Nordics, both within the software and consumer internet sectors, as well as in more traditional businesses where digitalisation can accelerate future growth. The fund 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 SEK 500 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. “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 practice ideas.

“Having worked with Verdane as a CEO and founder prior to joining the Verdane Edda team, I have seen first-hand how it operates as a strong partner to the Verdane funds, co-owners and management. The Verdane team has a high level of expertise and experience that makes it an invaluable ally to fast-growing companies seeking to improve and expand their businesses,” says Jakob Tolleryd, Partner at Verdane Edda.

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.

“We are grateful for the support from our investors, who support our mission of unlocking the substantial growth potential within a fast-growing ecosystem of Nordic technology enabled growth companies,” says Bjarne Lie.

Verdane Edda was advised by London-based Rede Partners, an independent fundraising and secondary advisor to the private equity industry, and Andulf Advokat, a Stockholm-based boutique law firm, specialising in private equity.

“Verdane funds act as ambitious, active owners, helping local companies become regional champions, or Nordic firms become global”

About Verdane

Verdane funds provide flexible growth capital to fast-growing software, consumer internet, energy or high-technology industry businesses, through both minority and majority investments in individual companies and portfolios. Verdane funds act as ambitious, active, and long-term owners, helping management teams and companies accelerate and sustain growth by leveraging the Verdane advisory team’s unrivalled technology capabilities and proven track record in driving business value. Verdane funds’ and SPVs’ current portfolio of 42 core companies, includes Boozt, EasyPark, Mustad, inRiver and Polytech. Verdane funds have attracted SEK 12 billion in total commitments from investors. Verdane Advisory Group has 30 employees working out of offices in Copenhagen, Helsinki, London, Oslo and Stockholm.  More information can be found at www.verdanecapital.com

 

Bjarne Lie, Managing Partner

Bjarne joined Verdane Capital Advisors’ predecessor, Four Seasons Venture, in Oslo in 2001 from PaperX, of which he was co-founder and COO, and spun out to form what is today Verdane Capital in 2003. Whilst at PaperX he scaled the company from zero to sixty employees, secured venture financing from Nordic, European and US investors, and ultimately closed the firm down after failing to scale successfully. Bjarne has previous entrepreneurial experience from the oil & gas sector with Fountain Oil in London and the Ukraine, and was formerly a consultant at McKinsey & Company in London and a research associate at the European University Institute in Florence. At Verdane, Bjarne has been instrumental in helping companies such as Banqsoft, Chipcon, ResLab, Resman, Reslink, Smartmotor and Wireless Maingate succeed. Bjarne serves as the chief investment officer and managing partner of Verdane Advisory Group.

 

Henrik Aspén, Partner

Henrik joined Verdane Capital Advisors’ Stockholm office after the 2005 portfolio acquisition from Skandia Liv. Henrik served as an investment manager at Prosper Capital/Skandia Liv and has prior experience in finance and management consulting at Ernst & Young.
At Verdane, Henrik has been instrumental in the acquisition of several companies, works closely with holdings primarily active in the software sector and in internet retail, and he has helped build companies such as Codenomicon, Dibs, EasyPark, Prenax and WhiteAway. Current board positions include Babyshop, Cool Company, Desenio, EasyPark, Hornetsecurity, Royal Design and Smava. Henrik is a Verdane Edda partner and serves as the head of business line for Verdane Edda.

 

Johnny Rindahl, Partner

After working together with Verdane in several previous and current Verdane funds’ investments for over 15 years, Johnny joined Verdane Capital Advisor’s Oslo office as a Verdane Edda partner in 2018. He has over 30 years of operational and entrepreneurial experience from building leading, technology driven companies in the Nordics. Johnny founded Spring Consulting, a previous Verdane fund portfolio company, which grew to over 150 employees in six years, and was until 2017 the CEO of previous Verdane fund portfolio company Banqsoft, a leading provider of software solutions to finance companies and banks, which was sold to KMD in 2015. The list of companies where Verdane and Johnny previously have joined forces also include companies such as Exie, Lingit and Mantacore, and he has prior board experience from companies such as eAccount and SPN.

 

Jakob Tolleryd, Partner

Jakob joined Verdane Capital Advisors’ Stockholm office as a Verdane Edda partner in 2017. He has deep experience as a tech entrepreneur, having founded and built companies such as Domain Network, Carambole and Klikki as well as Compricer and Easyart (the latter two previous Verdane portfolio companies). Jakob started his entrepreneurial career in 1996 and he has also been an active tech investor for the last 8 years. Additionally, he has acted as advisor to both Schibsted Growth and Bonnier Growth Media. The list of companies where Verdane and Jakob previously have joined forces also include companies such as MatHem, EasyArt and Desenio.

 

Press contact

Bjarne Lie, Managing Partner
Verdane
bjarne.lie@verdanecapital.com
+47 918 15 508