eQ Asset Management (“eQ”) has held the final close at USD 80 million for its North America-focused private equity fund, eQ PE VII US LP on 11 June 2015. The fund was raised in only five months and closed above its target.

eQ PE VII US invests in funds investing in unlisted small and medium-sized companies operating in USA and Canada. The portfolio will comprise approximately ten portfolio funds investing across different industries, geographies and stage. eQ will manage the fund and will be advised by Chicago-based RCP Advisors, who will be responsible for fund selection.

Staffan Jåfs, head of private equity, comments:

“We are excited about the opportunity to enter the largest private equity market in the world. Our strategic partnership with RCP ensures access to the best-performing, hard-to-access managers operating in the lower midmarket in North America. Through RCP we can draw upon more than 15 years of investment experience and an outstanding track record. Manager selection is critical in the lower midmarket due to high return dispersion between managers - investors can achieve premium returns only by investing with the best managers. RCP´s investment process relies heavily on quantitative analysis of fund managers and its comprehensive manager database covers more than 1,000 managers operating in RCP’s target market. In North-America sector specialization is far more common than in Europe and the portfolio will comprise a mix of sector-focused funds, for example healthcare, financial services or media / entertainment. Some funds apply a regional focus, for example investing only in the Mid-West, New York City area or in the West Coast. Finally, funds may also have a dedicated focus on certain types of transactions, such as turnaround / distressed, growth capital or buyout transactions. The investment period has started and we expect to complete the first investments shortly.

The interest for alternative investments in general and private equity in particular is growing among investors. We are pleased to welcome 35 investors in our new fund - of those as many as 11 are first-time investors in eQ’s private equity funds. With the establishment of eQ PE VII US we have reached two significant milestones – more than 100 private equity investors in total and private equity assets exceeding Euro 3.5 billion.”

Further information:

Staffan Jåfs, head of private equity, eQ Asset Management Ltd

Phone: +358 (9) 6817 8736