Scandinavia’s Nordea hits target on debut secondaries fund

Nordea Private Equity, a subsidiary of €235 billion Nordea Asset Management, is approaching final close on its debut secondaries fund.

The asset manager has hit the €150 million target for Nordea Private Equity Secondary Fund I, according to a statement seen by Secondaries Investor. It has been in market since 2019 and is expected to wrap up fundraising on 12 January.

“[The fund] offers smaller and medium-sized investors access to private equity investments, thanks to a lower threshold for commitments and shorter deployment periods, leading to a rapid scaling of private equity exposure combined with a typically shorter duration,” said head of NPE Christen Estrup in the statement.

Secondary Fund I will invest in transactions of between €5 million and €50 million with a focus on individual fund positions, GP-led deals and larger syndicated deals, the statement said.

The fund’s hard-cap and the composition of its investor base were not disclosed.

Copenhagen-based NPE been investing in private equity since 2007 through evergreen fund of funds vehicle Global Private Equity Fund, according to a source with knowledge of the group. The fund started with €250 million in assets and has around €800 million today. The group manages approximately €2 billion in assets including a co-investment fund and separate accounts.

The secondaries fund will be managed by senior portfolio manager Julien Marencic, Secondaries Investor understands. He joined Nordea in 2017 after positions with Partners Group, where he was senior vice-president responsible for originating secondaries deals, and Campbell Lutyens, according to his LinkedIn profile.

NPE’s investment team have individually executed more than 30 secondaries transactions with a total value of over $8 billion, according to the statement.