PARIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Idinvest Partners today announces it has completed the sale of a portfolio of investments in 12 growth companies (the “Portfolio”) to a newly established private fund, Idinvest Growth Secondary SLP (the “Fund”), capitalised by the private equity secondary market. The Fund and Portfolio will continue to be managed by the Idinvest Growth & Venture team, providing continuity and ongoing support to drive future growth for the underlying portfolio companies while delivering a liquidity solution for Idinvest’s existing investors.
The Portfolio consisted of investments made in companies across Europe and the US with a focus on technology and software. It included: Deezer, a leading global audio streaming service based in France, Forsee Power, an industrial group specializing in smart battery systems for sustainable electric transport headquartered in France and Sightcall, an enterprise-grade video cloud platform and global leader in augmented reality visual assistance, headquartered in San Francisco. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
With this transaction, which represents one of the largest growth secondary transactions in Europe, Idinvest is able to return up to c.€150m of capital in total to 40,000+ retail investors in the various vehicles that previously owned the Portfolio. The transaction was initiated before the COVID-19 pandemic and is one of the first secondary liquidity solutions to complete in Europe since the outbreak.
The new Fund set up as part of the transaction will provide fresh capital over a five-year period to support further value creation in the Portfolio, allowing the Idinvest Growth & Venture team to continue supporting the management teams they have backed.
The consortium of acquirers of the Portfolio was led by Pantheon and included a global financial institution, a European private bank and Commonfund.
“We are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for these companies and believe this Fund puts us in a great position to create value and offer them the support they need to generate future growth. We are pleased to be able to return capital in this difficult environment and provide liquidity to our investors and would like to thank them for their support over the years. In parallel, we would like to welcome our four new LPs to the Idinvest community and look forward to our future partnership,” said Benoist Grossmann, Managing Partner, Idinvest.
“Completing a transaction such as this one in the midst of a global pandemic is a strong sign of the resilience of the secondary market, the quality of the portfolio companies and the excellence of the Idinvest team,” Holcombe Green, Global Head of Private Capital Advisory, Lazard added.
Lazard acted as sole financial advisor to Idinvest.
Clifford Chance acted as legal advisor to Idinvest.
About Idinvest
Idinvest Partners is a leading European mid-market private equity firm. With €9bn under management, the firm has developed several areas of expertise including innovative startup venture capital transactions; mid-market private debt, i.e. senior and subordinated debt; primary and secondary investment and private equity advisory services. Founded in 1997, Idinvest Partners used to belong to the Allianz Group until 2010, when it branched out as an independent firm. In January 2018, Idinvest Partners became a subsidiary of Eurazeo, a leading global investment company, with a diversified portfolio of €18.8bn in assets under management, including nearly €12.5bn from investment partners, invested in nearly 430 companies.
Contacts
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