CapMan has established a MEUR 86 fund focusing on growth investments

CapMan press release                                                                        11 December 2017 at 10.00 a.m. EET

CapMan has established a MEUR 86 fund focusing on growth investments

CapMan has established a MEUR 86 growth investment fund that focuses on minority investments in unlisted companies with strong growth potential. The investors of the fund are, among others, successful entrepreneurs who want to support Finnish entrepreneurship in a new way. The investor demand for the fund has exceeded our expectations and the fund was clearly oversubscribed.

The successful fund raising demonstrates the investor appetite for active minority investments. CapMan Growth Equity team's track record is strong, as demonstrated by strong value creation in eight portfolio companies and several successful exits. The newly established fund aims to invest MEUR 2-10 to the target company and develop it for 2-5 years together with the entrepreneur. Minority investing is a good option e.g. in a situation where there are ownership changes in the company or when the growth of the company can be accelerated by additional capital. Minority investing is targeted typically into companies that have passed the start-up phase.

In conjunction with the establishment of the fund CapMan sells its shares in six growth companies to the fund for MEUR 26.6 and makes a corresponding equity commitment into the fund. The sales price is based on the fair values of the investments and does not have a profit impact.

Juha Mikkola and Antti Kummu are two experienced private equity professionals who are responsible for the new fund's investment activity. Mikkola has 25 years of experience in private equity. During his career he has helped to build dozens of successful companies. Kummu has extensive experience of both operative management and minority investments in growth stage and industrial companies. Kummu has previously acted as CFO of Touhula Varhaiskasvatus and as Director in Finnish Industry Investments.

"Minority investing is a new way to use external know-how to accelerate the growth of a company. We in the CapMan Growth Equity team closely co-operate with the entrepreneur and we also have support from a broad group of fund investors that possess unique know-how of developing and growing companies," says CapMan Growth Equity team's Managing Partner Juha Mikkola.

"Minority investing differs from traditional private equity investments as the entrepreneur maintains the majority ownership and decision-making power in the company, but still receives the know-how and financing from the investor that helps to grow the business further," explains Antti Kummu, partner in CapMan Growth Equity team.

"I am very proud of our newly launched growth investment fund and of our Growth Equity team. We at CapMan create new products and investment strategies, which resonate with the market demand and meet the needs of our clientele in the best possible way," says Joakim Frimodig, CEO of CapMan.

For further information, please contact:
Juha Mikkola, Managing Partner, Growth Equity, CapMan Plc, tel. +358 50 590 0522
Antti Kummu, Partner, Growth Equity, CapMan Plc, tel. +358 50 432 4486
Joakim Frimodig, CEO, CapMan Plc, tel. +358 50 529 0665 

CapMan
www.capman.com
twitter.com/CapManPE

CapMan is a leading Nordic investment and specialised asset management company. As one of the Nordic private equity pioneers we have actively developed hundreds of companies and real estate and thereby created substantial value in these businesses and assets over the last 28 years. CapMan has today 110 private equity professionals and manages €2.7 billion in assets. We mainly manage the assets of our customers, the investors, but also make direct investments from our own balance sheet in areas without an active fund. Our objective is to provide attractive returns and innovative solutions to investors and value adding services to professional investment partnerships, growth-oriented companies and tenants. Our current investment strategies cover Buyout, Growth Equity, Real Estate, Russia, Credit and Infrastructure. We also have a growing service business that currently includes fundraising advisory, procurement activities and fund management.