Milbank LLP advised Verdane, the European specialist growth investor, on the acquisition of a portfolio of five technology companies from HQ Equita GmbH (“HQ Equita”), a leading investment firm in Germany, and the related partnership with HQ Equita. The HQ Equita team will continue to operate independently, supporting the five companies on their individual growth tracks, in partnership with Verdane. The closing of the transaction is subject to obtaining requisite regulatory clearances.
The HQ Equita Fund V portfolio in the transaction comprises five holdings: Ebertlang, a leading pan-European, value-added distributor for cybersecurity and infrastructure software; Muegge, an industrial technology provider of plasma and microwave technologies for end markets, including production of sustainable lab-grown diamonds; r2p-Group, a supplier of intelligent technology systems for public transport; indevis, a cybersecurity provider; and The Packaging Group, which develops advanced packaging technology that helps customers switch from plastic to sustainable paper packaging.
Verdane is a specialist growth investment firm that partners with tech-enabled and sustainable European businesses. Verdane can invest as a minority or majority investor, either in single companies or through portfolios of companies, and looks to deploy inside two core growth themes: digitalization and decarbonization. Verdane funds hold over €5.7 billion in total commitments and have made over 400 investments in fast-growing businesses since 2003. Verdane’s team of over 130 investment professionals and operating experts, based out of Berlin, Munich, Copenhagen, Helsinki, London, Oslo and Stockholm, is dedicated to being the preferred growth partner to tech-enabled and sustainable businesses in Europe.
The HQ Equita team primarily supports owner-managed medium-sized companies in the strategic orientation and growth of their business. Since 1992, HQ Equita has developed into an established and trustworthy partner for medium-sized businesses. Around 1 billion euros have been invested in 37 small and medium-sized enterprises in German-speaking countries during this time.
The Milbank team that advised Verdane was led by partner Martin Erhardt (Corporate/M&A) and included partners Rolf Fueger (Tax), Alexander Rinne (Antitrust) and special counsel Michael Pujol (Corporate/M&A) as well as associates Svenja Tauchmann, Florian Weustenfeld (both Corporate/M&A), Marlies Zeck and Stefanie Gschoßmann (both Antitrust).
