EQT buys Coller Capital for $3.2bn to build secondaries platforms

EQT Group has agreed to acquire specialist secondaries manager Coller Capital in a deal that positions the Swedish buyout firm squarely inside the fast-growing secondaries market. The transaction carries a base consideration of USD 3.2 billion, to be paid in newly issued EQT shares, with up to USD 500 million of performance-linked cash consideration.

The acquisition brings Coller’s nearly USD 50 billion in total assets under management — including about USD 33 billion of fee-generating AUM — onto EQT’s balance sheet and creates a dedicated secondaries unit to sit alongside EQT’s Private Capital and Real Assets segments. Coller, founded in 1990, will continue to operate its origination and investment processes independently under the new brand Coller EQT.

Per Franzén, EQT’s CEO and Managing Partner, framed the move as a strategic step to widen product coverage and deepen client relationships across institutional, private wealth and insurance channels. Jeremy Coller will lead the newly formed platform as Head of Coller EQT and join EQT’s Executive Committee, preserving the continuity of leadership and the team that built Coller’s long track record.

The structure of the transaction is designed to align incentives: the bulk of the base consideration will be issued in shares at a fixed price (approximately SEK 355 per share, corresponding to circa 81 million new shares or roughly 7% of outstanding equity). A contingent cash upside tied to short-term performance is included, and many Coller managers have committed to reinvest a large portion of any contingent proceeds into EQT stock.

Beyond the headline price, the deal reflects the broader momentum in private markets secondaries. Market volumes surged last year — deal flow expanded sharply and industry estimates place the 2025 market north of USD 220 billion — and forecasts suggest the segment could more than double over the next several years. EQT expects the acquisition to be mid-single-digit accretive to fee-related earnings, while unlocking cross-selling opportunities into infrastructure, real estate and private equity strategies.

Operationally, the combination targets growth in underpenetrated markets and product adjacencies. Coller brings a multi-product distribution footprint that includes institutional funds, evergreen private-wealth vehicles (about USD 4.1 billion NAV across four products) and insurance-dedicated solutions. EQT’s global platform and digital capabilities are cited as levers to scale Coller’s presence in Asia and expand real-asset secondaries.

State Street — currently a minority investor in Coller — will become a shareholder in EQT as part of the arrangement, underlining the deal’s distribution and client‑servicing rationale. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and investor consents, with closing targeted in Q3 2026. For European private markets, the tie-up signals a wave of consolidation as large managers aim to offer both primary and secondary solutions under one roof.