About EQT

• Founded: 1994

• Headquarters: Stockholm, Sweden

• AUM: €245bn as of 2024

• Strategy: Multi-asset private markets, spanning buyout, venture growth, infrastructure, real estate, and credit

• Track record: Active across 30+ funds, with prior CV transactions in growth equity and infrastructure; venture portfolio includes positions in Epidemic Sound, Typeform, and Demodesk

• Leadership: Christian Sinding (CEO), Johannes Huth and Caspar Callerström (co-founders of predecessor firm, now senior advisors)

EQT structured a €526m continuation vehicle for holdings in its venture capital portfolio, with HarbourVest as lead buyer. The CV allows existing LPs to roll forward or exit, while EQT retains GP stakes in the underlying companies. Transaction specifics — including which fund vintage sourced the assets and the composition of the portfolio — were not disclosed.

The deal marks a significant expansion of CV activity into venture capital, a strategy that historically concentrated on buyout and growth equity. HarbourVest's participation as anchor buyer reflects growing secondary market appetite for venture portfolios in a zero-exit environment — Pitchbook recorded just 1,200 global VC exits in Q3 2024, down 23% year-over-year, while median time to exit stretched past 7 years. EQT's move follows Thoma Bravo's $1.1bn CV in November and Insight Partners' $2.7bn transaction in September, both venture-focused.

The structure raises questions about pricing discipline. Venture CVs typically trade at steeper discounts than buyout equivalents — recent secondary pricing data from Jefferies shows venture stakes transacting at 70–75% of NAV, versus 85–90% for traditional PE. Whether HarbourVest negotiated a markdown and how rolling LPs valued the extended hold period will signal whether venture CVs become a liquidity solution or a GP repricing mechanism. Watch for disclosure on LP rollover rates and any step-up provisions tied to future exits.

Source: Secondaries Investor