2018 was yet another eventful year for EQT. The various EQT buy-out funds invested in 52 companies and exited, or partially exited 18. The pace was high also on the fundraising side with three funds successfully closed; EQT Mid Market Asia III (at USD 800 million), EQT Mid-Market Credit II (at EUR 2.3 billion which was more than four times the size of its predecessor fund), and EQT VIII (at its hard cap of EUR 11 billion after less than six months of fundraising).
The EQT organization has continued to grow both geographically, with offices opened in San Francisco and Berlin, and in terms of new investment strategies, with Public Value being the most recent initiative. EQT also welcomed some 80 new colleagues to the firm and today, EQT has close to 600 employees across the globe.
Being an organization where the most important asset is the employees, it is a great pleasure to announce the yearly Partner promotions – the following Directors have been promoted to Partners, effective as of January 1, 2019.
- Brian Chang, Mid Market, Singapore
- Victor Englesson, Mid Market, Stockholm
- Stephen Escudier, Credit, New York
- Carl Johan Renström, Equity, Stockholm
- Magnus Tornling, Equity, Oslo
- Matthias Wittkowski, Equity, Munich
Christian Sinding, CEO and Managing Partner comments: “I would like to express my warmest congratulations to the new Partners. They have all demonstrated a strong dedication and an entrepreneurial spirit, providing valuable contributions to the EQT platform, our culture and values. I look forward to working together for continued success as we enter the next phase of EQT’s growth journey.”
In addition, EQT is happy to announce the recruitment of two new Partners to the EQT Ventures advisory team; Lyle Fong and Johan Svanström. Lyle has founded several companies in enterprise software and gaming, and Johan was most recently worldwide President of Hotels.com, and a member of the global management team of its parent, Expedia Group Inc. Both will be based in London.
Thomas von Koch, Deputy Managing Partner, adds: “I am thrilled about the Partner promotions, these individuals play a key role in EQT’s vision to become the most reputable investor and owner and they are truly passionate about developing companies. I also look forward to collaborating with Lyle and Johan in my new capacity focusing on EQT’s various growth areas – their experiences as serial entrepreneurs will be invaluable for EQT Ventures’ future development.”
