Argentum picks up bundle of EQT stakes

The Norwegian asset manager, which allocates €100m to secondaries annually, has acquired the interests through its sole secondaries vehicle.

Norwegian asset manager Argentum Private Equity has picked up stakes in three EQT funds from Danish holding company Motortramp, according to UK regulatory filings.

Argentum, which has NKr 17 billion ($2 billion; €1.8 billion) in assets under management on behalf of the Norwegian government, acquired interests in EQT V, EQT VI and EQT Mid Market through its only secondaries vehicle, Argentum Secondary AS.

Established in 1925, Motortramp is the parent company of the Motortramp Group and comprises the holding company Motortramp and shipping company Norden.

Motortramp could not be reached for comment on the stake sales. EQT did not respond to a request for comment. Argentum confirmed the information in the regulatory filings but declined to comment further.

EQT V is a 2006-vintage €4.3 billion buyout fund invested predominantly in the Nordic region, as well as Europe and North America, according to PEI Research and Analytics. The 2011-vintage EQT VI closed on its €4.8 billion hard-cap in less than nine months. EQT Mid Market closed in January 2014 on €1.1 billion and focuses on mid-market buyouts and growth equity investments in Northern Europe, Greater China and South-East Asia.

EQT funds were the third most sought-after European large buyout families in the second quarter of 2015, according to a report by intermediary Setter Capital.

In November, Argentum, which allocates around €100 million to secondaries annually, sold an interest in EQT V held by Argentum Secondary AS to AGC Equity Partners. London-based AGC used two vehicles, AGC Equity Partners Private Equity Secondary Funds I and II, to acquire the stakes.

Argentum also has primary exposure to several other EQT funds including EQT VII, which closed on its €6.8 billion hard-cap last July after just six months in market.

Argentum, which invests exclusively in private equity funds with a focus on the Nordics, Northern Europe and global energy funds, actively seeks secondaries opportunities in the UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland.