Abenex, a leading mid-market private equity firm, certified B Corp, focused on making investments in mid-cap businesses in Europe, is pleased to announce that it has opened an office in Amsterdam.
Abenex has a strong connection with the Benelux as its founding partners spun-out from Dutch bank ABN AMRO in 2008.
The mid-cap team of Abenex currently invests from Abenex VI with close to €600m of committed capital and makes equity investments of between €30m and €100m per platform investment, to support growing businesses achieve their objectives.
Abenex is committed to supporting long term sustainable growth for its portfolio companies and systematically integrates the highest ESG standards throughout its investment process. The B-Corp certification obtained by Abenex is further recognition of the team’s longstanding approach to sustainable value creation.
The Abenex Benelux office will benefit from Abenex’ strong expertise in fostering positive impact for businesses that operate in Abenex’ investment themes (value-added Services, Health & Wellness, and Safety), and from its dedicated Operational Team focused on providing ongoing support for portfolio companies. In line with Abenex’ successful investment strategy, the Benelux office will focus on partnering with ambitious entrepreneurs looking for a trusted partner to help accelerate the growth of their businesses organically and/or through M&A transactions.
The local network and presence in the Benelux will also provide support for existing Abenex portfolio companies to grow their operations in the region. Abenex has already completed a number of build-ups in the region, most recently with Blanchon Group’s acquisition of Ciranova in Belgium and Rigo in the Netherlands. Europa Group has also acquired Downtown Europe in Belgium.
Sander de Lange and Coen Barendsen will co-head the Abenex Benelux office. Sander joins Abenex from AAC Capital where he spent the last decade supporting businesses in Services and Health & Wellness related sectors.
Sander started his career at ABN AMRO Capital.
Coen also joins Abenex from AAC Capital where he has been successfully working together with Sander since 2017. Prior to AAC Capital, he spent 6 years at Heineken and 4 years at HAL Investments.
As part of a co-operation with AAC Capital, Sander and Coen will continue to be involved in the management of the AAC Capital portfolio.
Abenex’ Managing Partners, Patrice Verrier and Olivier Moatti, commented, “the opening of the Abenex Benelux office marks an exciting new step in Abenex’ journey. We see ample potential to offer entrepreneurs in the Benelux access to Abenex’ network and operational expertise.
We pride ourselves on our differentiated approach, rooted in on our passion for entrepreneurs and management teams and a strong emphasis on sustainability. We look forward to partnering with market-leading businesses in the Benelux region in the coming years”.
Sander de Lange and Coen Barendsen added: “We are excited to team up with Abenex, alongside our continuous involvement with AAC Capital’s portfolio companies. We are looking forward to working together with the close-knit Abenex team on building out the firm’s Benelux presence. We strongly believe in Abenex’ strategy and are keen to offer entrepreneurs in the Benelux region access to Abenex’ international network and operational support to help realise their growth ambitions”.
