CapMan expands into natural capital with Dasos purchase

Nordic private asset manager CapMan is expanding its activities into natural capital with the acquisition of timberland investment manager Dasos Capital for up to €40m.

CapMan has agreed to buy Dasos for €35m through a combination of a share issue and cash, and an earn-out consideration of up to €5m based on certain targets.

Dasos is a timberland and natural capital investment asset manager in Europe, as well as some global exposure. The company focuses on managing sustainable timberland investments, natural sites and forest carbon sinks, as well as developing value in Europe and emerging markets.

Dasos currently manages seven funds, which have a total asset value of approximately €1.4bn and which manage 266,000 hectares of forest in eight countries.

CapMan is a €5bn manager with interests in unlisted businesses, real estate, and infrastructure.

The acquisition will expand CapMan’s activities into natural capital and timberland investments and ”will bring several opportunities to expand and develop natural capital as a new investment area through its offering in the form of other natural capital and impact products”, the company said.

Once the acquisition is completed, Dasos will form the core of the new CapMan natural capital investment business, led by current Dasos CEO and senior partner Olli Haltia. 

Pia Kåll, CEO of CapMan, said: “Dasos is an excellent fit with our strategy and diversifies the current Nordic investment strategies geared towards real assets. Sustainable natural capital is a globally growing asset class.

”By combining Dasos’ professional team and a good return history with CapMan’s experience in scaling products and internationalising the investor base, we are creating formidable conditions for rapid growth.” 

Haltia said: “Partnering with CapMan allows leveraging synergies between the companies and strengthening the focus on Dasos’ value creation and investment activity. Forests and all natural ecosystems are globally under pressure resulting from population growth and massively increased economic well-being.

”For the coming decades, we need to move on with investing into and re-building our natural capital. The demand for sustainable wood as well as for forest-based nature and carbon sequestration services is expected to increase substantially in the foreseeable future.”

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