Willowridge buys second stake in IK 2000

Willowridge Partners has purchased a second stake in Industri Kapital 2000, Secondaries Investor has learned.

The stake was bought from Adveq. Willowridge also bought a stake from PineBridge Investments in December 2013, according to UK regulatory notices. Adveq sold its position in IK 2000 from its Europe I fund, a €95 million fund of funds which closed in 1998. PineBridge sold its stake from its Private Equity Portfolio Fund II. Both sellers declined to comment on the transaction.

Industri Kapital 2000 is managed by IK Investment Partners. The fund raised €2.1 billion from LPs including insurance company Skandia Old Mutual, according to PEI’s Research and Analytics Division. The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Nordea Bank Danmark were also LPs in the fund but both investors sold their stakes to HarbourVest Partners in 2004, according to UK regulatory notices.

IK 2000 invested in 21 companies in Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, according to the firm’s website.

IK typically invests in medium and large-sized pan-European buyouts, as well as family businesses and take-privates. Targeted industries include consumer, healthcare, industrial goods, information technology and telecommunication.

IK 2000’s most expensive acquisition was industrial and mining explosive manufacturer Dyno Nobel. The firm initially paid €1.2 billion to take the company private in 2000. The company later merged with US-based chemicals company Ensign-Bickford Company, which was resold to a consortium of investors for $1.7 billion in 2005.

Other investments include Alfa Laval, a heat transfer and fluid handling company, which was partially exited via an IPO on the Stockholm Stock Exchange in 2002. The company was completely sold in 2005.

IK 2000 exited most of its investments between 2000 and 2005. At the time, it had reportedly returned 54 percent of proceeds to investors.

Still, the fund has two remaining investments, according to the website.  They include professional workwear label Kwintet and artificial turf field and track company Sport Group, which were acquired in 2005 and 2006 respectively.

IK did not return a request for comment by press time.

IK’s subsequent fund was IK 2004, which closed on €825 million in 2004, according to PEI data. The fund missed its original target of €1.7 billion and IK’s LPs were reportedly concerned about the firm not sticking to its strategy and instead investing in chemical businesses. Their following fund IK 2007 raised €1.25 billion, below its €1.68 billion target.

IK underwent an internal transition in 2008 when it rebranded from Industri Kapital to IK and consolidated its pan-European footprint and investment agenda. At the time Christopher Masek and Detlef Dinsel became managing partners and heads of the executive committee. Björn Savén, who founded in the firm in 1989, retained his role as chairman during the transition, according to the website.

IK’s most recent fund, IK VII, closed in 2013 with €1.4 billion commitments. The firm is based in London and has five additional offices in Europe.

Willowridge purchased the IK 2000 fund stakes using Amberbrook VI, a $400 million 2012-vintage fund. The firm primarily purchases older, smaller fund positions, according to its website. At the end of last year, Amberbrook VI bought stakes in the Second Cinven Fund and BC European Capital VII, according to UK notices. The funds are 1998 and 2000 vintages respectively.

Willowridge was unavailable to comment by press time. The New York-based firm is led by founder and partner Jerrold Newman.

Chelsea Stevenson contributed to this report.