Private Equity Conference: Get to know private Equity Firms in the Netherlands

Get to know Private Equity firms in the Netherlands

On the 8th of September 2021, with the COVID measures still in place, the Private Equity Conference took place in a different setting once again. Luckily, the Financial Study association Rotterdam (FSR) was allowed to organize this year’s conference in a hybrid setting, hosting more than 50 students at the conference and the rest in a virtual setting. The speakers knew how to keep their audience fascinated by discussing this year’s theme: “Strategies to increase a firm’s value with regards to the post-COVID economy.” The speakers, Kimon Baloumis and Renger Dotinga from Parcom, David van Hasselt from Torqx Capital Partners and Joris Kil from Rotterdam Port Fund have all contributed to this discussion. Most importantly, they explained to the students who they are and what they do. This article will give you a brief summary of which companies participated in the conference and what sets them apart from each other.

 

Parcom

With over €1.5 billion in assets under management, Parcom is one of the leading mid-market private equity firms in the Netherlands. Over the past fourty years, Parcom invested in over 90 companies and was involved in over fourty add-ons, supporting portfolio companies in realizing growth ambitions. Parcom is an industry agnostic investor, investing in companies with clear business models, competitive advantages, and a strong management team. Parcom often (>60%) works with the founders of the firms and always in cooperation with management teams. Recent investments include HEMA (retail), Yource (customer support services) and Climate for Life (domestic heat pumps).

 

Torqx Capital Partners

Torqx is a leading investment firm focused on medium-sized companies headquartered in the Benelux with attractive improvement and/or growth potential. They manage a fund of €150 million and are industry agnostic, but have a bias towards the manufacturing, distribution and business to services industries. Within this fund, they take on the approach of conducting value investments and growth investments. In value investments, they assess where there might be a potential turnaround opportunity within a company and/or they assess whether there is a potential for performance improvement within the firm. As for their growth strategy, they conduct Buy & Build platforms and also undertake entrepreneur partnerships with the owners of the firm. In all of the investments that Torqx Capital Partners participates in, they are a true added value partner to management and the founders of the firms

 

Rotterdam Port Fund

Rotterdam Port Fund was established in 2017 in conjunction with the Port of Rotterdam, NIBC Bank, and several entrepreneurs from Rotterdam to support innovation in the maritime/port sector. Rotterdam Port Fund invests in scale-up and growth companies with a proven market-ready product, which is active in the Transport & Logistics, Energy & Refinery, and Offshore & Maritime sector. Within these sectors, the Rotterdam Port Fund particularly looks for companies which are engaged in Digitalization, Sustainability, and Safety. Up to now, they have invested in circa ten companies with an investment range between €2,5 - €10 million. For each of these investments, Rotterdam Port Fund takes a majority or meaningful minority stake (>20%) in return. An example of a firm that they have invested in is Fleet Cleaner. This Delft-based company uses self-developed robots to clean the hulls of ocean-going vessels of accumulated algae and other debris, reducing the drag of these vessels and thus saving fuel.