About us
Since its foundation in 1998, over one billion Euros have been raised in four different funds.
Polaris has extensive experience within a broad range of deal-types and industries in the Nordic mid-market,
from services to production, from local to global, from physical to intangible and from offline to online.
Although all based in the Nordic region, our companies often have an international reach.
Our Focus – The Mid-market
Polaris has consistently focused on investing in mid-market companies, which
typically means those with a turnover between €20-150m.
Our Objective – Grow Companies with Great Potential
Our objective is to invest in good companies with great potential and make them
bigger and better in partnership with the Management and the Board. Our ambition
is to double the size of our businesses by making operational, strategic and financial
step-changes together with our portfolio companies.
How Does Polaris Work?
doubling the size of our portfolio companies.
All our experience, expertise and network have been used to create the Polaris
Excellence Model. This model supports the managements of our portfolio companies
in executing their business plans and realising the company’s full potential.
Polaris Partnership Day
Polaris Partnership Day. This includes Boards, Management teams, Investors,
Partner Consultants, and of course the whole Polaris team. By uniting a network
of experts from different business areas, Polaris prioritizes the needs
of all our portfolio companies and aligns the expectations of every partner
to keep building bigger and better companies.
What Is Private Equity?
expertise, and access to growth capital.
If you are the owner of a company, you may be looking for a partner that can continue to develop your business.
Perhaps you also want to stay invested in the company in partnership with Polaris.
Polaris Excellence Model
This model is our way of working together with our portfolio companies and is based on our experience
and expertise in developing Nordic mid-sized companies.
An important component of this model are workshops led by industry specialists,
who provide hands-on expertise to support Managements and develop concrete outcomes,
which can then be applied back at the business.
In addition to the workshops the Polaris Excellence Model includes standards,
tools and best practises as well as a developed network of consultants
and specialized experts ready to support the Management teams
on specific topics such as; Pricing, Sales Efficiency and Procurement.
POLARIS WORKSHOPS – INTRO:
Each Polaris workshop centres on one focus area within the Polaris Excellence Model, and provides an opportunity for managements, Board Members and Polaris to exchange ideas, share knowledge and draw upon the experiences of the entire Polaris portfolio – adding value to each company.
POLARIS WORKSHOPS – PRICING:
Pricing is one of the focus areas in the Polaris Excellence Model as it is an opportunity for companies to support the realization of their business plan and drive forward profitability. The workshop allows managements and Board Members to take an in depth look at how pricing can affect the value of their company and take the next steps towards implementing lessons learnt.
POLARIS TALKS
These talks focus on current business trends, which we believe are of interest for mid-sized companies to address.
The aim of the Polaris Talks is to tap into the know-how of our extensive network and use this to inform and inspire the Managements of our portfolio companies to apply these best practices and experiences to their own companies.
POLARIS TALKS – DIGITALIZATION
Digitalization offers many opportunities for today’s businesses but addressing this vast area for mid-market companies is a challenge. Polaris works with senior executives from among others, Volvo Cars, Falck Group and McKinsey & Co, to share experiences and best practice on current approaches to digitalization, and how this is best applied to mid-sized companies.
Polaris Talks
Polaris Talks
Polaris continually organizes and facilitates discussions with senior executives,
industry specialists and the Polaris Team. These talks focus on current business
trends, which we believe are of interest for mid-sized companies to address.
The aim of the Polaris Talks is to tap into the know-how of our extensive network
and use this to inform and inspire the Managements of our portfolio companies to
apply these best practices and experiences to their own companies.
Our investors
60 high ranked institutional investors throughout Europe. These investors include
insurance companies, financial institutions, pension funds and family offices. In
addition, we as the Polaris Team commit our own money to the funds and therefore
align our interests with our partners. Funds raised throughout Polaris’ history
are shown below:
Polaris I – Vintage 1998 – Commitment €180m
Polaris II – Vintage 2005 – Commitment €270m
Polaris III – Vintage 2009 – Commitment €365m
Polaris IV – Vintage 2015 – Commitment €448m
The split of our investors for Fund IV is shown below:
Investors by Industry
Investors by Geography
Examples of our investors
Our responsibility
Except in circumstances described below we comply with their codes of conduct,
valuation and disclosure guidelines. We have implemented a Responsible Investment Policy,
which covers our own activities as well as our portfolio companies acquired after April 2016.
Polaris Management A/S is fund manager (advisor and administration company)
for Polaris and is licensed by The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority to operate as fund manager in accordance with
the Danish Alternative Investment Fund Managers Act.
Specifically we have developed a dedicated Sustainability toolbox that supports our companies.
Polaris Sustainability Checklist01
Portfolio Sustainability Program02
Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation
and of the Council of 27 November 2019 on sustainability‐related disclosures in the financial services sector
(the “Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation”, “SFDR”) and the Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 18 June 2020 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment
(the “Taxonomy Regulation”) when making investment decisions and Fund reporting, noting that parts of the EU
Taxonomy Technical Screening Criteria are still in development.
1. Integration of Sustainability Risk
could cause an actual or potential material negative impact on the value of the investment”. Sustainability risks
are integrated into the investment decisions of Polaris and are taken into account during the investment process
in a manner proportionate to each product’s investment objective and in the same way as Polaris approaches other
forms of risk management in relation to its products. This is done primarily as part of the due diligence process,
whereby should an investment have a material exposure to a sustainability risk, Polaris may choose not to make an
investment on this basis and in accordance with the relevant investment and risk management policies.
2. Statement on Principal Adverse Impacts of investment decisions on sustainability factors
factors that our investment decisions have.
Polaris investment process consists of several pre-defined “gates”. The due diligence in the final gate consists of
several aspects that are to be investigated for the target company. This includes an analysis of the investment from
a sustainability perspective. The process is supported by reputable advisors in the area.
The principal adverse impact are evaluated alongside all other risks and opportunities of a potential investment.
If a particular investment fulfills our investment criteria, all risks and opportunities, hereunder sustainability
related risks and opportunities, are then fully included in the business plan, the financial forecast and
the overall valuation of the company.
The following Sustainability criteria need to be met for an investment to be within Polaris investment mandate
and be considered an eligible investment for Polaris from a sustainability perspective:
The company is not part of, or has an important exposure to, a “no-go” sector: gambling, weapons, tobacco, and pornography
The company does not have an unacceptable exposure to countries, persons, or entities on the UN sanctions list
The risks of adverse impacts of the company, as defined in our Sustainability Principles, is determined to be acceptable and manageable
The company has processes, procedures, and policies in place to govern and manage sustainability and the company’s
adverse impact, or we believe that we will be able to establish these in collaboration with the management team post acquisition
Our portfolio companies shall, at a minimum, establish governance structures to meet the requirements embedded
in our Sustainability. Principles founded on the UNGPs/OECD consisting of policy Commitment through a
Sustainability policy, sustainability due diligence processes and grievance mechanisms.
The key objective for Polaris is to create value and build a stronger company by active ownership through a structured
value creation process combined with an effective corporate governance structure. We address principal adverse impacts
through our active ownership and investment restriction activities as described in our Responsible Investment Policy.
As an investor, we have committed to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).
3. Remuneration policies and sustainability risks
performance and remuneration reviews, legal compliance with respect to books, records, and accounting standards,
effective internal controls, and solid risk management processes. Specifically, it is important that the remuneration
of the management team and employees in the portfolio company does not encourage risk taking, including sustainability risks,
beyond acceptable levels.
