EUROPE - Access Capital Partners Group is in the process of acquiring Finland’s Pohjola Private Equity Funds (PPEF) and will enter into a strategic distribution partnership with Pohjola Asset Management in the Nordic countries.
 
At the same time, Pohjola Bank is acquiring 40% of Access Capital from CapMan and the Access managing partners.
 
As a result, the Access team will maintain its control over the company with 55%, while CapMan will retain 5%.
 
The combined entities (Access and PPEF) will manage aggregate funds of funds and mandates of around €4.5bn under the Access brand.

The PPEF team will be integrated into the overall Access team and constitute Access’s Helsinki office.

Access managing partners, Dominique Peninon, Agnes Nahum and Philippe Poggioli said the deal provided them with a “great platform to exploit the opportunities ahead”.
 
PPEF is a manager of private equity funds of funds and mandates with investments in more than 100 private equity and mezzanine funds, primarily in Europe.
 
PPEF is a subsidiary of Pohjola Asset Management and part of the OP-Pohjola Group, one of Finland’s big pension insurers.
 
The deal has provided CapMan the opportunity to sell most of its shares in Access after almost 12 years of continued support in the firm’s development.
 
Total assets under management are currently around €1.6bn.
 
The deal represents a significant international step up for Pohjola Asset Management, as it will become Access’s strategic distribution partner in Finland and thereafter in other Nordic countries.