GRO Capital has closed its northern European B2B software-focused fund GRO Fund III K/S, continuing the investment strategy pursued in prior funds, with a focus on accelerating the growth of mature software companies within the Nordic region, DACH and Benelux, according to a Wednesday (March 16) press release.
The fund, which has a 600 million euro ($662.25 million) hard cap, earned financial backing from many of GRO’s existing investors and welcomed new investors, including a mix of institutional and multilateral organizations from Europe and the U.S. GRO Capital now has in excess of 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in assets under management, the company press release says.
GRO Capital is currently invested in 11 businesses with focuses on cybersecurity, manufacturing software, vertical software and other mission-critical software applications.
“We are very excited to embark on the next phase of our development and we are grateful for the strong support from both existing and new investors,” GRO Capital Managing Partner Lars Dybkjær said in the press release. “The outlook for the software industry and software investing is as exciting as it has ever been.”
Asante Capital Group acted as the exclusive global fundraising adviser while Plesner acted as GRO Capital’s legal adviser.
Related: Decentralized Markets, Local Skills Boost B2B Wholesale eCommerce in Europe
B2B wholesale eCommerce has been gaining traction as firms move their operations online, with more and more online marketplaces helping retailers save time and resources when buying goods in bulk. Europe’s high market fragmentation requires that these platforms decentralize their operations and acquire local knowledge and expertise that can enable them to effectively address local needs in the different markets.
According to data from the European Commission, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) represent 99% of companies in Europe, making this group of business owners a core target of many businesses operating in the region.
Currently active in 23 countries with offices in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the U.K., French unicorn firm Ankorstore recently raised 250 million euros (about $275 million) in a Series C round earmarked for its expansion to other regional markets, starting in Italy and Spain.
The B2B wholesale platform also plans to scale both horizontally and vertically by adding new product categories and features, starting with the recent additions to its core product categories: sports and well-being and pets.
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