Odin Equity Partners reorganises its investor base and changes name to BWB Partners: DKK 575 million committed to investments in promising small and medium sized enterprises.

Odin Equity Partners reorganises its investor base and completes generational change. All 12 current portfolio companies are transferred to two new funds named BWB Partners I and BWB Partners II. New capital commitments enable the funds to invest a total of DKK 575 million in additional platform investments as well as add-ons to existing portfolio companies.

The reorganisation sees BWB Partners I, consisting of a buying consortium of six existing and new investors, acquiring 100% of the portfolio companies of Odin Equity Partners. In parallel, all portfolio companies of Odin Equity Partners II are acquired by BWB Partners II. Some of the capital committed to BWB Partners II comes from the buying consortium, while some comes from rolling investors in Odin Equity Partners II.

Furthermore, the consortium of buyers has committed some DKK 380 million of undrawn capital to the two new funds. In total, BWB Partners I and BWB Partners II will have approx. DKK 575 million for new platform investments as well as add-ons to existing portfolio companies.

”The process of reorganising the investor base has left us in a significantly stronger position with a long-term, international investor group and a solidified capital base. We are very pleased with the outcome and proud of the confidence shown by both existing and new investors,” says Jacob Bergenholtz, Managing Partner of BWB Partners.

The consortium of buyers consists of two new international investors along four existing investors from the previous Odin funds. These six investors are: Access Capital Partners (lead), Idinvest Partners, Altamar Capital Partners, PenSam, BNP Paribas Private Equity and SCPP. The investor base also includes: Horsley Bridge Partners, European Investment Fund, Industriens Pension, Euro Private Equity and Coeli.

Lazard Private Fund Advisory Group led the reorganisation of the investor base, which was met with substantial international interest. As part of the reorganisation, all existing investors in the Odin funds were offered an exit option on market terms, and some investors have made use of this option, while other investors have renewed or increased their commitment. ”For the past six months, we have worked to accommodate the various wishes of our investors and believe we have succeeded,” Jacob Bergenholtz says.

The two BWB Partners funds have invested in 12 industrial and service-sector companies with a total turnover of DKK 7.1 billion and some 4,000 employees. Half of the companies were acquired before 2008, and a number of them were hit hard by the financial crisis: ”Together with the boards and the management teams, we have worked to internationalise these companies, trim their costs and sharpen their competitive edge by focusing on the unique strengths of each company,” Jacob Bergenholtz states.

“The high demand received from prominent international investors is testament to the strong management capabilities of BWB Partners and the soundness of the portfolio companies they manage,” says Pablo de la Infiesta, European Head of the Lazard Private Fund Advisory Group.

Along with this reorganisation, the management company managing the two funds has completed a generational change. The company is now owned and led by partners Esben Bay Jørgensen, Jesper Wadum Nielsen and Jacob Bergenholtz. Esben Bay Jørgensen and Jesper Wadum Nielsen co-founded Odin Equity Partners in 2005, with Jacob Bergenholtz joining in 2006.

For further information please contact:

Managing Partner Jacob Bergenholtz, BWB Partners
Tel. +45 4840 1200 (office) / +45 2464 3234 (mobile), e-mail: jb@bwbp.dk