Verdane funding news – Oslo-based Verdane Secures Verdane Idun II at €700Million Fund

Idun II will focus on companies working in energy transition and resource efficiency. It is classified as an “Article 9” fund, meaning it meets strict environmental standards under the European Union’s Sustainable Finance rules.

Investment of fund

The fund will invest between €20 million and €100 million in sustainable businesses. All investments must meet high sustainability standards, including a goal to avoid at least 5,000 tonnes of CO2 for every €1 million invested.

In addition to the Idun II fund, Verdane uses its “2040 test” to make sure it only invests in businesses that are well-positioned to succeed in a sustainable economy. More details can be found in Verdane’s 2023 sustainability report.

Earlier this year, Verdane also closed its Edda III fund, raising €1.1 billion, bringing its total assets under management to over €8 billion.

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Verdane’s Freya fund, which has been active for over 20 years, is currently investing from its Freya XI fund. This fund has a flexible strategy, investing in both portfolios of companies and individual companies.

Idun II has received commitments from major investors, including:

• Nysnø Climate Investments, Norway’s state climate fund
• Banque de Luxembourg
• MN, a provider of services for Dutch pension funds
• Tesi, a Finnish capital investment company
• Carbon Equity, which allows investors to back top global climate funds.
• Other investors in Idun II include global private and public pension funds, university endowments, foundations, insurance companies, and family offices.
  

The fund was fully invested within five months. Most of the investments come from non-profit organizations and others that benefit a wide range of people. 29% of the commitments to Idun II came from US investors, and overall, the fund has investors from 13 countries.

Verdane focuses its investments on leading European companies that are driving digital change and helping reduce carbon emissions. Over the past 12 months, Verdane has invested over €600 million in 16 companies that are part of these two major growth trends.

Frida Einarson, Partner, Investor Relations at Verdane, said: “The mobilisation of private capital at scale in 2024 to help create a more sustainable economy is a positive development for both our industry and the planet. We are grateful to welcome existing and new investors into Idun II and look forward to delivering both strong returns and positive climate impact, which they can quantify and track, for their programmes.”

Bjarne Kveim Lie, Founder and Managing Partner of Verdane, said: “With Idun II, we seek to demonstrate that it is possible to generate world-class returns for investors while making a meaningful contribution to the decarbonisation of our economy. As structural growth investors, we are convinced that the quest to decarbonise is a generational megatrend. Our goal is to be the preferred growth partner to the companies best positioned to take advantage of that trend, and to help them reach their full potential.”

“Our decarbonisation team at Verdane is now one of the largest in Europe, with 13 dedicated investment professionals. They are supported by an in-house operations team 35 strong, and benefit from the entire organisation’s deep networks and experience helping scale sustainable European growth companies over the last two decades. This enables us to not only dive deep into the structural growth trend of decarbonisation, but also to support our companies with on the ground presence across core Northern European markets to support companies in their growth. We remain humbled by the continued trust placed in us by our investors and will do our utmost to deliver against their high expectations.”

About Verdane

Verdane is a growth investment firm that works with tech-driven and sustainable businesses in Europe. They invest in both individual companies and portfolios, either as a minority or majority investor. Verdane focuses on two main areas for investment: digitalisation and decarbonisation.