Waterland sets up €2 bln fund. Looking for acquisitions in Poland

The Waterland Private Equity Investments Group, within less than two months of launch, has set up a €2 billion fund to institutional clients and is actively seeking further investment projects, among others. in Poland. "WPEF VII intends to acquire majority stakes in well-performing mid-size companies operating in developing, fragmented Northern European markets (Benelux, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Poland, the UK, Ireland, and Nordic countries to finance both their organic growth as well as through acquisitions of other companies. This is a continuation of the successful buy-and-build investment strategy that has been used by investment funds for over twenty years,” the fund wrote in a press release. Waterland owns shares in WSE-listed debt collector Kredyt Inkaso, and cosmetics manufacturer L’Biotica. The new investment fund has attracted institutional investors from Europe (40 percent), the US (42 percent), the Middle East (6 percent) and the Asia Pacific region (12 percent). Public pension funds are the largest part of the investor base.