Partners Group Explores Parmaco Exit While Brussels Clears AVK Power Deal

Partners Group is exploring a roughly EUR 1.5 billion sale of Finnish modular builder Parmaco, while securing EU clearance for its AVK Power Solutions takeover.

Partners Group is weighing a sale of Finnish modular building specialist Parmaco Oy, with Bank of America mandated to advise on the process, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg. The deliberations remain at an early stage, and no transaction is assured — the Swiss asset manager could equally opt to keep the asset on its books. Should a deal materialize, it would value Parmaco at roughly EUR 1.5 billion (USD 1.7 billion), with completion not expected before 2027.

The Helsinki-based company, which Partners Group acquired in 2021 from a consortium led by Terra Firma at an undisclosed price, operates across Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Germany. It employs about 300 people and generates annual revenue of approximately EUR 100 million.

News of the potential exit lands amid a challenging stretch for private equity disposals. On Monday, UBS analyst Mate Nemes trimmed his price target on Partners Group to CHF 670 from CHF 705, pointing to delayed portfolio realizations, more conservative return assumptions and higher costs for currency hedging. The shifting interest-rate environment has compelled buyout firms across the board to prepare exits more carefully, lending greater weight to strategic groundwork laid for later years.

Green Light in Critical Infrastructure

On the acquisitions side, Partners Group secured antitrust clearance from the European Commission for its takeover of AVK Power Solutions Limited. Brussels found no competition concerns, noting that the companies involved operate neither in the same markets nor in vertically linked ones. The transaction was announced in early August, with Partners Group planning to commit more than USD 1 billion in equity alongside debt financing. AVK's management will retain a minority stake. The British provider designs, installs and maintains backup power and energy supply systems for data centers, with roughly 3.5 gigawatts of installed capacity.

The firm has also kept up a steady cadence of operational moves. On September 10 it opened an office in Stockholm to deepen its long-term activities in the Nordic region. Five days later it struck a partnership with sports talent agency SEG, pledging to more than double the equity deployed for worldwide expansion. The same day brought a financing package exceeding EUR 300 million for MDT technologies. Investors now turn their attention to October 7, when London-listed Partners Group Private Equity Limited holds an extraordinary general meeting.

Shares Attempt to Find a Floor

Portfolio realization delays have weighed on sentiment for months, leaving the stock down 40% since the start of the year. The shares closed yesterday at EUR 634.80, up 0.9%, and were trading at EUR 633.60 on Thursday, a gain of 0.7%, as investors balance the prospect of liquidity returning in 2027 against the capital outlays required for AVK. Concrete progress on large divestments such as Parmaco is likely to be a key ingredient in any lasting turnaround.