EQT Plans Biggest European Buyout Firm Listing in 25 Years
EQT Plans Biggest European Buyout Firm Listing in 25 Years
(Bloomberg) -- EQT Partners, the largest buyout firm in the Nordic region, is planning a Stockholm listing this year in what could be the biggest European initial public offering for a private equity firm in more than two decades.
The planned IPO is expected to encompass 20% of the total number of shares in EQT, which will include at least 500 million euros ($550 million) in newly issued stock plus a sale of shares by existing investors, the company said in a statement Monday.
EQT said last year it was reviewing options to find ways to support growth and “weather tougher times.”
“We already have an anchor investor in Investor AB and a listing will give us better access to the capital markets,” EQT Chief Executive Officer Christian Sinding said by phone Monday. “We believe a listing is the most appealing path for continued long-term growth.”
Still, initial public offerings for buyout firms in the region have been rare.
An IPO could value EQT at about 4 billion euros, people familiar with the matter said previously. Based on the stake EQT is planning to sell, its IPO could become the largest by a European private equity firm since 3i Group Plc’s $1.1 billion share sale in 1994, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company’s other listed peers include France’s Eurazeo SE and Switzerland’s Partners Group Holding AG.
Investor AB, founded by the wealthy Wallenberg family, is EQT’s anchor investor and owns 23% of the buyout firm, according to the firm’s website. EQT’s founder, Conni Jonsson, owns 7%, managing director Thomas von Koch owns 5% while Sinding owns 4%.
Investor AB and the other partners that currently control EQT will sell a limited share of their ownership in the IPO.
Since its inception in 1994, EQT has grown internationally and has added venture capital, real estate, infrastructure and credit to its repertoire. EQT has raised more than 61 billion euros for investment funds since it was started about 25 years ago.
--With assistance from Rafaela Lindeberg.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Syed in London at ssyed35@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dinesh Nair at dnair5@bloomberg.net, Amy Thomson, Jonas Bergman
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