EQT on the COVID-19 pandemic

The letter below has been sent to investors in EQT funds from Christian Sinding, CEO and Managing Partner, and Jussi Saarinen, Head of Client Relations & Capital Raising and Partner.

We hope you and your families are all well in these turbulent times of the COVID-19 pandemic. The spreading is now global with more and more countries taking unprecedented actions to prevent and delay the spreading, both in local communities and by banning more and more travelling across borders.

We wanted to take the opportunity to give you an update on the different measures EQT is taking, both as a firm and as an investor and owner.

EQT supports the global ambitions to reduce and delay spreading, and we want to do everything we can as a firm to release pressure on local healthcare in order to ensure that the most vulnerable people get access to the care they need. We also want our staff and their families to stay safe and we have therefore decided that all EQT employees across the offices in Europe, UK and the US work from home as much as possible. The majority of EQT’s offices are still operational but at a significantly smaller scale.

Thanks to our strategy of future-proofing ourselves, we already have the necessary digital set-up and tools to work and collaborate remotely - it really works well. In addition, we have strict travel restrictions and encourage video conference meetings rather than physical as much as possible.

Looking at the portfolio, we are working to ensure the short- and long-term performance of the EQT funds while at the same time being an active and supportive owner of the portfolio companies. Right now, focus is on constructive and calming support to the portfolio companies, activating business continuity plans, monitoring financing structures and capital and liquidity needs and preparing for a downturn while trying to stay ahead of the curve. Based on our experience from previous crises, we have downturn plans for respective portfolio companies and these “heatmaps” are now coming into good use and enabling quick and decisive actions where needed, and we are currently performing a high-level Corona impact analysis by fund and portfolio company.

We are also offering all EQT funds’ portfolio companies support with best practices around remote ways of working. A series of virtual training sessions will be organized starting this coming week that will include tools and technology recommendations to help our portfolio companies maximize collaboration and productivity of their workforce.

In addition, we would like to inform you that we have decided to transform this year’s physical EQT Annual Investor Meeting into a virtual event. 

To conclude, we are fully confident that we have tools and preparations to handle this crisis while remaining humble about its complexity. EQT is a responsible investor and owner, in good times as well as bad, and history shows that we have been even stronger in tougher times. Feel free to reach out to your respective contact at EQT should you have questions or concerns.

All the best,
Christian Sinding                                          Jussi Saarinen
CEO and Managing Partner                      Head of Client Relations & Capital Raising, Partner