ABN AMRO seeks buyers in PE unit spin-out – exclusive

ABN AMRO, the Netherlands’ third largest bank, is looking for buyers to back the spin-out of its private equity team, Secondaries Investor has learned.

The team known as ABN AMRO Participaties plans to take stakes in 25 Dutch companies off the bank’s balance sheet and manage them backed by secondaries capital, according to two sources familiar with the deal. The portfolio has net asset value of around €250 million, the sources said.

Buyers are also being asked to commit to a new private equity fund that will be managed by the independent team.

The Amsterdam-headquartered bank is working with advisor Lazard on the process which has passed the first stage of bidding, Secondaries Investor understands.

The bank has a history of secondaries-backed spin-outs. In 2007 life sciences firm Forbion Capital Partners spun out, forming a €200 million fund backed by the parent’s balance sheet and Coller Capital.

The following year a consortium including Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, AlpInvest Partners and Adams Street Partners backed the €600 million spin-out of the captive private equity team, which rebranded as AAC Capital, sister publication Private Equity International reported at the time.

ABN AMRO Participaties makes investments of between €5 million and €30 million in Dutch businesses, according to its website. It is led by managing director Marc Damstra, who has been at the bank since 1999, and Friso Janmaat, who has been with the bank since 2002, according to their respective LinkedIn profiles.

ABN AMRO and Lazard declined to comment.