United Bankers announces the launch of UB Forest Industry Green Growth Fund I LP having secured commitments of EUR 100 million.
United Bankers’ UB Forest Industry Green Growth Fund I LP (“UB FIGG” or “the Fund”) investing in sustainable and resource efficient forest and bio-based industries has raised EUR 100 million in investment commitments.
Finnish Industry Investment Ltd (Tesi), a state-owned investment company, leading Finnish pension insurance companies, Veritas and Elo, as well as Pension Fund of the Finnish Broadcasting Company and Sandvik Pension Fund are anchor investors in the new Fund.
UB FIGG is a private equity fund investing in companies focused on plastic and other fossil fuel based material replacements, higher value and more efficient use of wood and agricultural raw material side streams and greater use of these raw materials across a wide range of intermediate and end uses. Through its investments, the Fund will help the forest and bio-based industries to create solutions to mitigate climate change. UB FIGG is a signatory of Operating Principles for Impact Management and reports on the environmental and climate impact of its investments.
The Fund has already developed a solid pipeline of potential initial investments, with the first investments expected to be made in early 2023.
The forest industry is experiencing one of the biggest breakthroughs in its history with the development of new products based upon raw material side streams complementing the more traditional pulp, paper and wood based products. The Fund’s geographic focus is Europe, in particular the Nordic region, where the greatest level of innovation is taking place. Finland is the world’s leading country in the technological development of the forest industry, which makes it natural that a fund with this strategy is being launched here.
The Fund’s investments will target forest and bio-product industrial companies in the growth phase, but also consider selected opportunities in industrial project co-investments and buyouts.
UB FIGG is a closed-end private equity fund for professional investors, with 10-year term and a target size of EUR 300 million. The fund’s target net return (IRR) is over 15 per cent. The Fund’s alternative investment fund manager is UB Fund Management Company Ltd, which is a part of the United Bankers Plc group.
Over the past eight years, United Bankers has created deep expertise in forestry, becoming one of the largest managers of forest resources in Finland. This expertise is now being further expanded into the forest industry, with investments by UB FIGG.
”We are very proud of being able to build a unique private equity fund and hire a world class team to execute a strategy we strongly believe in. We would like to thank all our investors for the interest in our Fund’s strategy and are excited to help develop the forest and bio-based business opportunities in our region”, comments Matti Lehtipuu, Managing Partner of UB FIGG.