Advent goes Dutch

Advent International has announced the opening of an Amsterdam office. The office will be led by Amsterdam-based Teartse Schaper, who will be supported from London by John Singer, an Advent managing director.

Advent, which recently raised €2.5bn for its fifth fund, has a number of Dutch investors in its current buyout funds, including AlpInvest, Robeco and the FMO. In the past 11 years, Advent has invested in 11 Dutch companies both independently and through a joint venture relationship with the private equity arm of NIB.

One of these was Radio 538, the Dutch commercial radio station, which was sold to John de Mol’s Talpa Radio International in May last year. Advent also invested in Colofon, the country’s largest independent niche publisher, which was subsequently sold to Reed Elsevier.

In 2004, Advent participated in the investment in Delft Instruments, Netherlands-based group of companies specialised in medical and industrial electronics. Advent also invested in RAET, the country’s largest payroll services provider.

In 1997, Advent acquired Panta Electronics, a group of nine industrial electronics businesses in the Netherlands, from Philips. Additional Dutch investments include Cordena, a call-centre business, later sold to ClientLogic Corporation; and EUnet International, an internet service provider, later sold to Qwest Communications International.