INVL closes largest Baltic private equity fund at €165 million

INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund (“the Fund”), the largest private equity investment fund for the Baltic region, managed by one of Lithuania’s leading asset management companies INVL Asset Management (“INVL”), has successfully completed its final close reaching a total of €164.7mn.

“We are delighted to reach this final close having received strong support from our investor base. We took the decision not to extend the placement of the Fund given that the amount raised is sufficient to implement our investment strategy and deliver strong returns for our investors. We are actively working on a number of new investments that will ultimately allow us to leverage on our ability to execute complex deals with promising growth prospects”said Darius Šulnis, the Managing Partner of INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund.

According to Šulnis, INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund will seek to repeat the historical success of Invalda INVL which recorded a 27% gross IRR and 2.4x CoC on average in comparable transactions.

The Fund will seek to assemble a diversified portfolio of Baltic Sea based companies, targeting deals with a ticket size of €10mn to €30mn, that showcase high growth potential and the ability to compete on a truly global basis (the Fund will also offer co-investment opportunities in case of larger transactions). The Fund will focus on growth capital, buyout, and “buy and build” investments. It is expected that the portfolio of the Fund will comprise 8-12 investments in total. Since the first close, the Fund has invested in two companieswithin the healthcare and civil engineering sectors respectively

“We very much value the vote of confidence and trust given to us during this process that has resulted in closing the largest private equity fund in the Baltic region, having the support of the European Investment Fund (“the EIF”) and the most experienced Baltic institutional, corporate investors and high net-worth individuals who have good knowledge of the Baltics market and opportunities that it provides. Our main priority and focus now will be the deployment of capital already raised over the next 2-3 years, the development of sustainable portfolio companies, the delivery of strong returns for our investor base and coming back to the market with Fund II in due course” said Deimantė Korsakaitė, the Executive Partner of INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund.

According to Korsakaitė, a large majority of their investors have already confirmed an interest in co-investing with the Fund that will allow the management team to consider equity investments of up to €100mn.

INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund brings together a diversified panel of investors, including public investors (the EIF being the anchor investor), Baltic region institutional investors (Estonia’s LHV pension funds, INVL pension funds), private and corporate investors. The Fund is focused on the Baltic States and the neighbouring regions of Poland, Scandinavia and Central Europe specifically.It targets majority or significant minority stakes in businesses where the opportunity exists to become ‘regional champions’ while also actively participating in the management of investments and long-term increase in capital value.

The EIF, which is a part of the European Investment Bank, committed €30mn with the support of the European Fund for Strategic Investments, a key element of the Investment Plan for Europe (or the ‘Junker Plan’), as well as allocating resources from the Baltic Innovation Fund, the “fund of funds” initiative developed in cooperation with the governments of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia respectively, which aims to increase capital investment in high growth potential small and medium-sized enterprises in the Baltic States.

INVL Asset Management is part of the Invalda INVL, one of the leading asset management groups in the Baltic region. The group’s companies manage pension and mutual funds, alternative investments, individual portfolios, private equity assets, and other financial instruments. Over 200,000 clients in Lithuania and Latvia and international investors have entrusted the group with more than €1bn of assets under management. Active since 1991 and with a solid track record, Invalda INVL boasts 28 years worth of experience in managing private equity assets in the Baltic countries and CEE landscape while developing companies into best-in-class market leaders.