AAC Capital Partners steps out of ABN AMRO's shadow(3)

The former captive private equity arm of Dutch bank ABN AMRO has taken the last step to independence with a new name AAC Capital Partners.

The firm operated at ‘arms-length’ from ABN AMRO and had reached an agreement before the summer with ABN AMRO to transfer the control of Northern European buyout activities to a management company which is majority-owned by the executives of AAC Capital Partners in Amsterdam, London and Stockholm. 

The current €1.1 billion portfolio will continue to be owned by ABN AMRO and will be managed by AAC Capital Partners.

In addition, ABN AMRO has made a €2 billion commitment earlier this year to fund the investment programme of AAC Capital Partners. The bank retains about a 15 percent stake in the management company of the independent business.

AAC Capital Partners has invested around €200 million from the new fund. Paul Southwell, managing partner in the London office, said: “We have a fund, we just happen to have one limited partner and clearly at a time of our choosing we will diversify. We have a lot of funding behind us.”

The firm’s investment strategy is not changing. It will continue to lead buyouts in its local markets within the €50 million to €500 million deal range in the consumer, industrial and services sectors.

The teams will target opportunities for majority stakes in profitable, cash-generative companies headquartered in the Netherlands, Nordic region and the UK.