This year, IK will be 30 – something of a mile-stone in private equity, an industry that was in its infancy when we were founded in 1989. Our age confers distinct benefits, especially when political, economic and market conditions are hard both to gauge and predict. Fortunately, we have experienced a number of cycles during the past three decades and learnt valuable lessons along the way.
The past few months have been active and fast-paced at IK, including several exciting transactions across our mid cap and small cap strategies. At the same time, however, we have continued to reflect on how we can better serve our investors and our wider community of stakeholders.
EARLIER THIS YEAR, we closed IK Small Cap II, our second fund focused on up-and-coming businesses in our chosen geographies of Northern Continental Europe. The close – at the hard cap of €550m – was a pivotal moment for IK, coming just two years after the launch of IK Small Cap I, our first official smaller company fund.Both funds are a natural extension of the strategy we have pursued since the firm was founded in 1989, generating value through active investment, helping companies to grow and, in the process, delivering returns for all our stakeholders.
This autumn IK partners, portfolio company heads and CFOs met in Amsterdam for a special summit on finding growth. The focus was the engineering sector, one of IK’s key investment pillars, and the lively conversation spanned everything from tapping aftermarket potential to the rise of the “good-enough” model. IK’s operational focus can also be found in our interview with new Operating Partner Johan Van de Steen, head of the Strategy, Operations and Business Control (SOBC) unit. His team will be renewing efforts to support companies throughout their time with IK, from initial investment to exit.
We live in an ageing world. Demographics are changing fast, creating a range of long-term social and economic shifts, from rising medical needs to an increased demand for quality of life in later years. IK has a long history of association with the healthcare sector, from care homes for the elderly to the administration of individual pharmaceutical products for the chronically ill. While we are attracted to the long-term positive drivers behind the industry, we also believe that investing in healthcare is part of our role as responsible investors.
The past year has been memorable for IK on several levels. We closed two funds, our first our first small cap fund, IK Small Cap I, and our eighth mid cap fund, IK VIII. In the process, we raised more than €2bn. We also completed several exciting new investments, including six for the small cap fund and our first transaction for the IK VIII Fund.
Heritage has always played an important role in the IK culture. Our Nordic roots, our focuson small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and our belief in genuine value creation have been central to the IK philosophy since we were founded. Alongside heritage, however, we are constantly striving to expand and develop IK for the benefit of all our stakeholders.
The past few months have been extremely active for IK. We have taken advantage of the receptive exit environment to make four rewarding divestments but we have also made three exciting investments, each in sectors where we have many years’ experience and knowledge.
These are exciting times at IK. Activity levels are high, we have a strong pipeline of transactions and there is a feeling of optimism across our business. In recent months, we have made several great investments and crystallised two rewarding exits, while our portfolio companies continue to make good progress.