Denmark's PKA earmarks €860M for unlisted European companies
What's the deal? Danish pension fund PKADealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → is committing US$938.7M (€860 million) to unlisted European companies, including US$220M for venture. It serves members such as nurses, social educators, physiotherapists, and pharmaconomists, and framed the move as both a return play and a bet on European growth.
Why now? PKADealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → argues Europe lags badly on startup funding. Citing Mario Draghi's report on European competitiveness, it said 5% of global venture capital funds are raised in the EU, versus 52% in the US.
What's the endgame? The US$220M venture allocation will back smaller, typically young companies with growth potential, funding product development, hiring, and international expansion. Chief executive officer Jon Johnsen said too many promising European companies end up in the US "because the investment environment and access to capital are better," adding: "We want to help change that."
Who runs the money? The investments will flow through Institutional Investment Partners (IIP)Dealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which PKA founded and now co-owns with Lars Larsen GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. IIP has raised almost US$3.08B this year across three funds investing in unlisted companies — one exclusively European, the other two allocating significant capital to Europe.
The opportunity: IIP managing partner Maria Hjorth said European companies can be bought at lower prices than American ones. That gap, she said, stems partly from Europe's thin capital markets and less competition for strong companies — "opportunities that we can use our experience and network to exploit on behalf of our investors."
The signal: Draghi's competitiveness warnings are turning into capital. As European institutions move to close the funding gap with the US, PKA's pledge shows large pension pools starting to treat homegrown startups and unlisted firms as both a return source and a strategic priority.
Read more: europesays.com
Image credit: News Oresund
