Verdane seals fifth deal from Fund VIII

Nordic direct secondaries specialist Verdane Capital has invested in nutrition supplements and training gear company MM Sports, according to a statement.

The investment marks Verdane’s fifth deal and twenty-second portfolio company from its Verdane Capital VIII, which closed on SEK 2 billion (€220 million; $300 million) in June.

Sweden-based MM Sports was founded by Olle Sparringsjö in 2002. Verdane will work alongside Sparringsjö to help MM Sports expand into other Nordic markets.

“We believe there is a big potential in nutrition supplements and that it keeps growing as more and more people try to lead a healthy lifestyle,” Staffan Mörndal, a partner at Verdane said in the statement. “We look forward accelerating the growth pace even further at MM Sports and we have already started working on a number of initiatives.”

MM Sports currently has six storefronts and an online store, making it Verdane’s twenty-fifth e-commerce investment.

Verdane VIII is the firm’s largest fund to date. It invests in Nordic companies with international growth potential in the information technology and energy industries. In July, Fund VIII acquired five companies from Norwegian family office Ferd Capital. The companies include Aspiro, which owns music streaming service Wimp. The fund also invested in a 20 percent stake in domestic appliance company WhiteAway and has already sold the stake to a company owned by Danish fashion mogul Anders Holch Povelsen.

Last week, Verdane sealed an exit from its prior funds (Verdane Capital Fund VI and VII). The sale of information technology company Dolphin Software generated a 30 percent internal rate of return for the firm.