(Bloomberg) — EQT AB has appointed Per Franzen, a 20-year-veteran of the Swedish private equity firm, to lead the company through its next fundraising push and continued expansion into real estate.
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Franzen will become chief executive officer of EQT in May, having spent nearly two decades at the firm, according to a statement. Currently serving as head of the private capital business in Europe and North America, he most recently led the €22 billion ($23.1 billion) raise of the fund EQT X, the company said.
“We will continue to grow existing business lines,” London-based Franzen said by phone. The group is already “a top three player globally in private equity and infrastructure, and we see exciting potential in real estate.”
Franzen said he has no plans to leave London for Stockholm having recently moved to the UK with his family.
His appointment comes amid an aggressive growth trajectory at EQT since it became a publicly traded stock in Stockholm in 2019.
Three years ago the firm bought Baring Private Equity Asia Ltd. for about $7.5 billion in what is the biggest takeover of a private equity firm by another in the sector. A year prior it spent $1.9 billion buying Exeter Property Group to gain access to real estate markets across North America and Europe.
“Acquisitive growth will be part of our strategy going forward,” Franzen said.
Citigroup Inc. analyst Nicholas Herman said in a note to clients that while the new CEO is “relatively less well-known to the market, equally EQT’s strategy is well-embedded (so we expect continuity).”
EQT shares fell as much as 2% when trading started in the Swedish capital on Monday.
Franzen will replace Christian Sinding, who plans to step down at the next annual shareholders meeting after six years running the firm. Under Sinding’s tenure, the Swedish company’s market capitalization increased from about €7 billion ($7.3 billion) at the time of its 2019 listing to €40 billion currently.
EQT stock is up nearly 20% so far this year after the firm delivered a set of fourth-quarter figures that was well received by investors and market watchers. Analysts covering the company described the results as the best value-creating reporting period in three years on the back of strong exit activity and fundraising.
“We are now seeing a clear pickup in deal activity,” Franzen said.
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