Finland’s eQ hits final close on sophomore secondaries fund

The firm has collected €135m for eQ PE SF II, which had an undefined target.

Finnish asset manager eQ Asset Management has held the final close on its second private equity secondaries fund.

The Helsinki-based firm has collected €135 million for eQ PE SF II, which had an undefined target, according to a statement. The vehicle held a first close on €65 million in January, of which roughly €32 million came from the firm’s flagship fund of funds, PE X North.

PE X North held a final close on €175 million at the same time as PE SF II. The vehicle will target roughly 10 private equity funds focusing on Northern European small to mid-sized unlisted companies and has a secondaries allocation of between 20 percent and 40 percent. All of PE X North’s secondaries allocation will be invested through eQ PE SF II, according to a February statement.

eQ PE SF II had acquired stakes in seven fully invested funds as of February.

In September 2017 eQ raised its €137.5 million eQ PE SF secondaries fund especially to acquire a portfolio of 17 fully invested western European mid-market buyout funds from Access Capital Partners, as Secondaries Investor reported.

Investors in eQ PE SF include another eQ fund, PE VIII North and the Finnish State Pension Fund.

The firm had over €5.4 billion in private equity assets under management across more than 20 funds of funds and client portfolios as of 30 June, according to its website.