EQT AB 公布2026年三季度：FAUM环比增420亿欧元至1950亿，募资目标由1000亿上调至1400亿欧元

Asia stocks tumble as South Korea’s KOSPI triggers circuit breaker in tech rout
Introduction & Market Context
EQT AB (STO:EQT) presented its third-quarter 2026 results on October 15, showcasing substantial growth across its private markets platform as the firm solidified its position as the world’s third-largest private markets manager. The Stockholm-based investment firm reported fee-generating assets under management (FAUM) of €195 billion, representing a €42 billion increase from the prior quarter, with total AUM reaching €354 billion.
The presentation highlighted the successful integration of Coller Capital, which contributed €34 billion to the quarterly FAUM increase, and announced the pending acquisition of Stockbridge to expand the firm’s real estate capabilities. EQT shares traded at $289.5, up 2.81% from the previous close of $281.6, though still below the 52-week high of $383.
Quarterly Performance Highlights
EQT’s third-quarter performance demonstrated broad-based momentum across multiple metrics. The firm reported net inflows of €11 billion during the quarter, bringing last-twelve-month net inflows to €62 billion. Investment activity remained robust, with €30 billion deployed over the trailing twelve months, while the firm returned €29 billion to clients during the same period.
The following overview illustrates the comprehensive performance across strategic initiatives, fundraising, investment activity, and exit activity:
Employee headcount grew to 2,274 full-time equivalents, up from 1,941 in September 2025, reflecting the firm’s expanding platform and integration of acquired businesses. Investment activity over the last twelve months totaled €30 billion across funds and co-investments, while exits reached €15 billion during the same period.
Fund performance across the platform remained strong, with key funds either meeting or exceeding performance targets. In Private Capital, EQT VII and VIII delivered "above plan" results, while newer vintages EQT IX and X remained "on plan." The Infrastructure segment showed particular strength, with Infra III performing above expectations.
Global Market Position and Competitive Standing
EQT’s acquisition of Coller Capital elevated the firm to the third-largest position among global private markets managers, according to PEI’s October 2026 rankings. The firm raised $239 billion over the past five years, trailing only two larger competitors who raised $357 billion and $302 billion respectively.
The presentation emphasized EQT’s competitive advantages across seven key dimensions:
The firm highlighted its global deal sourcing capabilities, having invested €75 billion over the past two years and executed €58 billion in exits during the same period. EQT positioned itself as "the gateway to Europe’s start-up ecosystem" through its €5 billion Scaleup Europe Fund, while maintaining a scaled platform across Asia with the $15.6 billion BPEA IX fund.
Strategic Acquisitions and Platform Expansion
The Coller Capital transaction, which closed at the end of August 2026, represents a significant expansion of EQT’s secondaries capabilities. The acquisition provides access to one of the fastest-growing segments of private markets, with the secondaries market AUM projected to grow by $3.5 trillion between 2025 and 2035.
The strategic rationale for the Coller acquisition centers on four pillars:
Coller EQT brought €34 billion in FAUM to the combined platform, with demonstrated first-quartile net MOIC performance across funds CIP V through VIII. The business has already closed two structured products in 2026 and raised $8.8 billion from insurance clients between 2024 and year-to-date 2026. Management expects to double Coller EQT’s FAUM within four years through cross-selling opportunities and accelerated product development.
The pending Stockbridge acquisition, subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals, will further strengthen EQT’s real estate platform. The transaction involves a base consideration of $375 million, with 50% to be reinvested in EQT AB shares under a lock-up agreement, plus a potential earnout of $0-175 million based on performance targets. Expected closing is targeted for the first quarter of 2027.
The strategic rationale for acquiring Stockbridge centers on expanding EQT’s real estate capabilities:
Stockbridge brings $16.5 billion in FAUM, approximately 185 employees, and expertise across alternative living sectors, open-ended core products, and industrial outdoor storage. The acquisition is expected to contribute $17-19 billion in fee-generating AUM and $120-130 million in management fees during 2027, with fee-related EBITDA of $35-45 million.
The combined real estate platform will achieve greater diversification across both sectors and strategies:
Post-acquisition, the combined platform will manage approximately $42 billion in FAUM with roughly 600 employees, significantly reducing concentration in industrial real estate from 90% to 75% while increasing exposure to living sectors from 10% to 20%.
AI Infrastructure and Innovation Focus
EQT’s AI Infrastructure fund demonstrated substantial growth during the quarter, with net asset value reaching $11.5 billion at September 30, up from $9.4 billion at June 30. The growth was driven by both continuous capital raising and value appreciation in the underlying portfolio.
The NAV progression throughout the quarter reflects strong momentum:
The fund’s flagship investment, EdgeConneX, has emerged as the second-largest developer of data center capacity globally, commanding an 8% share of total megawatts leased according to TD Cowen and SemiAnalysis data as of September 2026. The investment has generated extraordinary returns since EQT’s initial 2020 investment.
The value creation story at EdgeConneX illustrates the fund’s potential:
EdgeConneX’s equity value has grown from $1.5 billion at EQT’s first investment in 2020 to $50 billion currently, driven by the company’s position serving hyperscalers across 90+ sites in 26 countries. The company maintains 95%+ hyperscaler contracts and has over 10 years of experience serving this demanding client base. Management emphasized that the quarter’s $1.1 billion increase in EdgeConneX value came entirely from earnings growth and new business, with no changes to valuation multiples.
The Scaleup Europe Fund represents another innovation-focused initiative, targeting investments in breakthrough European technology companies. The fund made seven investments during the third quarter and has attracted strong fundraising momentum with a €5 billion target size that management expects to reach and exceed.
Portfolio companies in the Scaleup Europe Fund span critical technology sectors:
Notable investments include Mistral AI (Europe’s sovereign AI champion), The Exploration Company (pioneering independent access to space stations), ICEYE (synthetic aperture radar satellite intelligence), and Euclyd (AI chip company focused on computational efficiency). The fund targets 40+ investments with average ticket sizes ranging from €30-300 million, leveraging strong deal flow from the broader Scaleup Europe ecosystem.
Fundraising Momentum and Product Expansion
EQT raised its fundraising target for the current cycle to €140 billion from the previous €100 billion expectation, citing the addition of Coller Capital and stronger-than-anticipated demand for new products. The firm is actively fundraising across 10+ closed-ended strategies, 2 open-ended institutional funds, and 12 evergreen vehicles for private wealth.
The fundraising landscape across the platform shows diverse activity:
Key closed-ended funds are progressing toward activation, with EQT XI expected to activate within the next few months and Infrastructure VII anticipated to activate around year-end with an early close in December. Coller’s CIP X is scheduled to launch early next year. The firm activated 10+ other closed-ended strategies during 2026, including the Scaleup Europe Fund, CCO III, and the final close of Healthcare Growth.
In the institutional open-ended segment, EQT AI Infrastructure continued its strong momentum while EQT Active Core Infrastructure activated during the third quarter. The evergreen platform for private wealth expanded to 12 active vehicles as of Q3 2026, including the launch of Nexus Asia to provide access to Asian private markets.
EQT is well-positioned to capture growing insurance capital, one of the fastest-expanding sources of private markets funding:
The insurance alternatives AUM market is projected to grow from $4-5 trillion in 2025 to $10-12 trillion by 2035, representing approximately 9% annual growth. Insurers’ allocation to alternatives has doubled from 5% in 2015 to 10% in 2025, with an additional $6 trillion in new alternatives AUM expected from insurance by 2035. EQT has demonstrated strong traction in this channel, with Coller EQT raising $8.8 billion from insurance clients in 2024-26 year-to-date and launching nine structured products for insurance clients since 2020.
The evergreen platform showed positive trajectory despite Q3 being a seasonally less active quarter:
The platform launched one new Private Capital Asia-focused evergreen in Q3, bringing the total to 12 vehicles across private equity, infrastructure, real estate, and secondaries strategies. Quarterly net inflows reached €0.9 billion in Q3 2026, with the platform managing €11 billion in NAV, of which €8 billion represents FAUM incremental to EQT AB.
Investment Performance and Portfolio Activity
EQT maintained attractive deal flow across its platform during the quarter, with continued focus on exits and liquidity. Investment activity over the last twelve months totaled €30 billion for funds, with an additional €12 billion in co-investments, while exits reached €15 billion for funds and €15 billion for co-investments.
The geographic and sector distribution of investment and exit activity reveals strategic priorities:
Investment activity was geographically concentrated in Europe (50%) and Asia-Pacific (42%), with North America representing 8%. By sector, secondaries dominated at 55% of LTM investments, followed by infrastructure (26%), Private Capital EU & NA (9%), real estate (7%), and Private Capital Asia (3%). Exit activity showed a different geographic mix, with Europe at 45%, North America at 43%, and APAC at 12%, while infrastructure led sector exits at 45%.
Fund performance across key vintages demonstrated resilience and value creation:
Private equity and infrastructure funds delivered double-digit value uplift over the last twelve months, with overall key funds up 10% LTM and 5% during the quarter. The 2019 vintage funds, including EQT VII, VIII, and BPEA VII, are performing above plan despite being largely realized. The 2020-2021 vintage showed 5% quarterly growth and 10% LTM growth, while the 2022 vintage demonstrated particularly strong performance with 7% quarterly growth and 24% LTM growth.
Management highlighted several value creation factors: a large share of the portfolio is already realized, resilient performance across the platform offset lower reference multiples in Private Capital, strong relative performance considering vintages, very strong performance across the portfolio paced by Infrastructure and the Energy and Digital portfolios, and EQT X performing well with mid-teens value increase LTM.
Forward-Looking Statements
EQT’s presentation emphasized six key highlights that frame the firm’s near-term outlook:
The AI Infrastructure fund’s growth to $11.5 billion in NAV, driven by both fundraising and value creation at EdgeConneX, represents a cornerstone of the firm’s innovation strategy. The Scaleup Europe Fund’s strong start with seven Q3 investments demonstrates both fundraising momentum and broader halo effects for the platform.
Active fundraising across 10+ closed-ended funds, 2 open-ended funds, and 12 evergreen vehicles supports the raised €140 billion fundraising target for the current cycle, substantially exceeding the initial €100 billion expectation. The pending activation of EQT XI within the next few months and Infrastructure VII around year-end will further accelerate FAUM growth.
The Stockbridge acquisition will build EQT Real Estate’s US presence, broaden offerings into alternative living and other thematic areas, and strengthen core strategies. The successful closing of the Coller Capital transaction provides attractive growth opportunities in the insurance channel, private wealth, and new client strategies.
Management emphasized that future growth in the real estate platform will be mainly driven by expansion of open-ended core, industrial outdoor storage, and alternative living sectors. The firm maintains balance sheet investments of approximately €3 billion, split between €1 billion in fund investments and €2 billion in strategic investments, expected to generate approximately 10% annual returns while accelerating platform growth with aligned interests.
Full presentation:
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.