EQT to buy Coller Capital for up to $3.7bn to drive secondaries growth

Stockholm-listed EQT said that it would pay an intial $3.2bn upfront for UK-based Coller, an early mover in the market for selling existing stakes in buyout funds, that has around $50bn in total assets under management and $33bn in fee-generating assets.

This will be followed by an additional payment of $500m after one year, depending on certain agreed business performance criteria.

EQT stated that it would fund the acquisition by selling 81m of its shares, to be issued at closing at a set price of SEK355 per share.

Founded in 1990, Coller started buying existing stakes in buyout funds in the 1990s and has since extended its activities to include credit funds, as well as backing so-called continuation vehicles where managers sell their own assets to themselves.

The transaction brings together EQT’s global scale, established multi-strategy platform and active ownership model with Coller Capital’s specialist secondaries expertise, and data and analytics capabilities developed over its 35-year history.

EQT stated that the combination with Coller will advance its ambition “to build the most attractive private markets firm of scale, delivering industry-leading performance and solutions globally. Together, the two firms will be able to strengthen relationships and opportunities with institutional, private wealth and insurance-related clients while creating a deeper global EQT platform across private equity, infrastructure, real estate and secondaries”.

Per Franzén, chief executive officer and managing partner of EQT, said: “Entering the secondaries space with Coller represents a natural and important step in EQT’s strategic development.

“Secondaries have become an increasingly important tool for clients in managing liquidity and portfolio construction, and in supporting long-term ownership of high-quality assets. Coller is a global leader in this field, with deep expertise,” he added.

“Secondaries have become an increasingly important tool for clients in managing liquidity and portfolio construction, and in supporting long-term ownership of high-quality assets”

Per Franzén, CEO and managing partner of EQT

“The transaction unlocks growth opportunities for both firms. Together, I believe we can double the size of Coller’s business in less than four years. As a combined firm, we will be exceptionally well positioned to deliver integrated solutions across both primary and secondary markets, underpinned by a disciplined focus on performance,” Franzén said.

Jeremy Coller, chief investment officer and managing partner of Coller Capital, said: “This partnership marks a defining moment for Coller. We are bringing more than 35 years of secondaries expertise to EQT to realise our shared ambition to shape the future of private markets. The opportunities ahead are compelling, from accelerating innovation in secondaries to broadening the secondary solutions we can deliver to investors worldwide.

“As Coller EQT, we will maintain our strong alignment with our investors and the independence of our world-class origination and investment process. Together, we are exceptionally well-positioned to deliver best-in-class private market solutions for our investors.”

As part of the deal, Coller Capital, of which State Street Investment Management is a minority shareholder, will become a shareholder in EQT.

Yie-Hsin Hung, president and CEO of State Street Investment Management, said: “We see this as an exciting evolution in our strategic partnership with Coller Capital. We are keen to expand our engagement efforts to include EQT’s breadth of capabilities, as well as the opportunity for Coller Capital to expand its secondaries offering to include real assets, strengthening the platform. Together with EQT, we look forward to improving access to private markets solutions and innovating for clients worldwide seeking diversification and better outcomes.”

Once the transaction has been completed, Coller Capital will form a new business platform within EQT, to be branded Coller EQT.

Coller EQT will form part of a new secondaries business segment, alongside EQT’s existing private capital and real assets segments. Jeremy Coller will become head of Coller EQT, reporting directly to EQT’s Franzén.

EQT will acquire 100% of the Coller Capital management company, the Coller Capital general partner entities which control the Coller Capital funds, and 10% of carried interest in Coller’s most recent private equity secondaries flagship fund (CIP IX), which had a final close on 31 December 2025 at $10.2bn in fee-generating commitments, resulting in a total fund size of $14.2bn.

Selected financial information for Coller Capital

Coller Capital said its fee-generating AUM is expected to reach around $40bn by year-end 2026, generating $350m to $375m in fee-related revenue and $175m to $200m in fee-related EBITDA during 2026 with a fee-related EBITDA margin of approximately 50%.