Riverside loses Europe origination head to HIG

The Riverside Company has appointed Lars Eriksson as head of its European origination team.

The promotion comes after Riverside lost its former head of European origination, Juan Barnechea, to HIG Capital.

Barnechea, who was based in Madrid, left Riverside at the end of 2013 to become a director at HIG, where he focuses on growth, LBO and distressed investments in the Iberian peninsula, according to his LinkedIn page. He joined Riverside in 2008.

As head of the origination team, Lars Eriksson will focus on finding the best growing companies in which to invest throughout Europe, the firm said in a statement.

Eriksson, who will be based in Stockholm, joined Riverside in 2007 and has covered both the Nordic countries and the UK from Riverside’s Stockholm office.

Prior to joining Riverside, he founded an M&A advisory and investment business in Stockholm, which he ran from 2004 until 2007. Eriksson has also worked for UBS in London, and spent five years in M&A advisory in Stockholm and Frankfurt.

Riverside’s team changes come shortly after the firm closed its Riverside Capital Appreciation Fund VI on $1.5 billion, surpassing its $1bn target. Fund VI came to market in the summer of 2012 and held a first close on $605 million last year.

The vehicle targets investments in lower mid-market companies, primarily in North America, with enterprise values of up to $250 million and EBITDA of between $5 million and $25 million.

Riverside completed 22 acquisitions in 2013. The firm has invested in three European companies in the last month, according to the statement.