Korea Post commits €80 mn to Sweden's EQT Partners

Korea Post's insurance arm has committed €80 million ($97 million) to a new flagship fund of Swedish private equity firm EQT Partners that raised €15.6 billion at its final close last month.

EQT IX is the largest buyout fund of a European private equity firm, with focus on healthcare, technology, media and telecom companies, undergoing drastic structural changes since the global pandemic began, in both Europe and the US, according to investment banking sources on May 11.

Since its first close in early 2020, the new vehicle has invested in Recipharm AB, Sweden's leading contract development and manufacturing organization and Cerba Healthcare, a French manufacturer of medical diagnostic tools.

Global pension funds, including Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund and several sovereign wealth funds have participated as limited partners. About 70% of LPs of EQT's seventh flagship fund joined in the latest vehicle as well, according to the private equity firm.

Founded in 1994, EQT manages €67 billion in assets across buyout, growth and venture capital fund strategies, as well as real estate and credit sectors.

The state-run Korea Post is the country's No.2 pension fund and manages 137 trillion won ($122 billion) in assets as of the end of last year. The insurance arm makes up 56 trillion won, with the savings unit accounting for 81 trillion won.

Back in 2018, Korea Scientists and Engineers Mutual-Aid Association and Yellow Umbrella Mutual Aid Fund each committed €30 million to EQT Partners' $2.6 billion credit fund.

Write to Jung-hwan Hwang at jung@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article.