Insights from the 2024 Benelux Private Equity Breakfast
November 6th, 2024, Amsterdam
Pedersen & Partners and CMS Netherlands co-hosted the Benelux Private Equity Breakfast today. The event provided a lively and agile atmosphere for representatives of notable local and international PrivateEquity, VentureCapital and Infrastructure funds to discuss, debate, and network.
The panel discussion was co-chaired by Poul Pedersen – Executive Chairman, Pedersen & Partners, and Mark Ziekman – Partner, CMS Amsterdam.
The panel members were:
- Simone Brummelhuis – Partner, Borski Fund
- Jean Diercxsens – Partner - Head of Belgium & The Netherlands, Kartesia
- Robert Falk – Partner, Bencis Capital Partners
- Marco Gulpers – Head of Corporate Finance M&A NL, ING
- Mels Huige – Partner, Active Capital Company
- Reinaert Molenaar – Partner, 365 Capital
- Patrick Polak – Co-founder and Managing Partner, Newion Partners
- Jesse van Schouwenburg – Managing Director, Investmens, CVC DIF
Key takeaways from the event, as summarised by Hans Lodewijks, Client Partner, Country Manager for Netherlands at Pedersen & Partners:
📉 Overall Benelux M&A activity is stable compared to last year, but there is a decline in big deals. Corporate buyers have been more active than private equity funds.
🕒 Deals take longer to close, and more deals are being abandoned.
💼 Exits are difficult in the current market, resulting in a longer holding period.
💰 Fundraising is easier for large-cap private equity funds but challenging for smaller funds.
📈 Portfolio management skills are critical to help portfolio firms grow and perform.
The panel highlighted the following critical value-creation actions in 2024:
- Add-on acquisitions
- The ability to raise prices
- Controlling costs
- Ensuring that portfolio firms maintain their focus
🔄 A majority stake in the Dutch infrastructure fund manager DIF was taken over by CVC in 2024.
🌱 Finally, ESG considerations continue to be of paramount importance in Benelux.