Summa Equity raises the largest European impact fund to date – announcing final close of c. EUR 2.3 billion for third fund
Summa Equity is expanding to support its mission of investing to solve global challenges in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Stockholm/Oslo: Today, Summa Equity announced the closing of its third fund (“Fund III” or “the Fund”), with investor commitments of c. EUR 2.3 billion (c. SEK 23 billion). The Fund was closed in record time and was oversubscribed within four months, raised in a fully virtual fundraising environment. The capital raised will strengthen Summa Equity’s ability to contribute to solving global challenges through sustainable investing.
With its new fund, Summa Equity now manages aggregated capital commitments of close to EUR 4 billion (c. SEK 40 billion). Established in 2016, Summa Equity was one of the first Private Equity firms with a clear purpose-driven investment strategy and continues to be committed to positively impacting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Fund III will continue to build on Summa Equity’s proven track record of incorporating the SDG framework in shaping the investment and value creation strategy to drive long-run value, focusing on thematic investments in industries supported by the same megatrends within resource efficiency, changing demographics, and tech enabled transformation as its predecessors.
The announcement of Fund III comes three years after Fund II, and five years after Fund I. Fund I and Fund II closed with commitments of c. SEK 4.7 billion (c. EUR 470 million) and c. SEK 6.8 billion (c. EUR 680 million) respectively, and with a further c. SEK 5.4 billion (c. EUR 540 million) in managed co-investments. Fund III represents a scale-up, with an extended investment mandate to invest across a more expansive geographical remit and to also invest in primary capital in growth companies. To reflect this growth, Summa has expanded its investment team to the DACH region, Benelux, and the US.
Leading global investors have chosen to continue to invest in Summa Equity also for Fund III, as well as new investors joining to invest to solve global challenges. Fund III is comprised of a diverse group of investors including pension funds, insurance companies, foundations and endowments, financial investors and family offices with global representation including Canada, the United States, the Nordics, UK, DACH, France, Benelux, Singapore, Japan and Australia.
Summa Equity has made 22 investments to date that are advancing the SDGs. These include five investments delivered in 2021, with representation across all the three structural themes. The portfolio has delivered strong performance to date, as measured through financial and operational value drivers and demonstrable impact-oriented and ESG outcomes. Summa is committed to pushing the limits on quantifying positive impact through its collaboration with the Impact Weighted Accounts (IWA) project at Harvard Business School. Moreover, Summa has recently certified as a B Corporation, joining a growing group of companies reinventing business by pursuing purpose as well as profit.
Reynir Indahl, Managing Partner and Founder of Summa Equity said:
“Our societal challenges are increasing, environmentally, socially, and with falling trust and governance issues. All companies are either part of the problem or can be a solution. As we have seen in our portfolio, companies offering positive solutions for society prosper in a turbulent world. With the scale up in Fund III, we hope that Summa can have significantly increase its positive impact on an international scale, investing in companies across the spectrum from young, high-growth companies to more mature firms. Impact investing, or what we call Private Equity 4.0, is becoming mainstream as a growing number of PE firms are adding to their existing capabilities the effective management of impact on “externalities” to address environmental, social, and governance challenges. The growth of Summa Equity over our five-year history and the strong interest we received in our Fund III is further evidence that impact investing has become mainstream.”
Hannah Jacobsen, Investment Director and Head of Investor Relations said:
“The strong commitment to Summa Equity’s third fund confirms that our investors believe in our thematic focus, distinct deal flow and high caliber team; recognizing Summa Equity’s ability to deliver future-proofed superior returns whilst driving ESG outcomes. Together, we will continue to reimagine capitalism.”
Summa Equity was advised by Rede Partners, an independent funding advisor to the private equity industry. Mannheimer Swartling was lead legal counsel in the fundraising, with Ropes & Gray advising on US legal matters and PWC on tax and structural matters. Summa Equity is domiciled in Sweden and regulated as an Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority.
About Summa Equity
Summa invests in companies that are solving global challenges and creating positive Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) outcomes for society.
Summa’s purpose is to co-create win-win for investors, portfolio companies, and society through aligning its vision and outcomes to the Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring a net-positive impact against ESG challenges, and the potential for long-term, sustainable outperformance.
Investments are focused on industries and companies that have tailwind from megatrends within three sustainability themes: Resource Efficiency, Changing Demographics, and Tech-Enabled Transformation. Across these themes, Summa’s portfolio companies are supporting a world in transition and showing that business can be part of the solution.
For interviews or more information, please contact:
Hannah Gunvor Jacobsen, Investment Director and Head of IR at Summa Equity
+47 936 41 960 | Hannah.jacobsen@summaequity.com