Europe PE body calls for industry to donate to Ukraine crisis

Invest Europe, which advocates for investment firms as well as pension funds and insurers, will donate €100,000 to support the work of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The industry association representing European private equity is donating money to support relief efforts in Ukraine, and has called for its members to follow suit.

Invest Europe, which advocates for investment firms as well as pension funds and insurers, will donate €100,000 to support the work of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Ukraine after Russia invaded last Thursday, a spokesperson confirmed to affiliate title Private Equity International.

“We have equally issued the call to our 610 members to boost this funding further,” the association said in a Wednesday statement, condemning the invasion.

“We are profoundly saddened by the tragic loss of life and human suffering in Ukraine. Any consideration of economic losses is, of course, irrelevant compared to the worry for our fellow European citizens in Ukraine, including our colleagues and the tens of thousands of employees of companies they back.”

UK industry body the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association also condemned Russia’s invasion, saying it was “saddened to see a blooming economy, private equity and venture market in Ukraine wilt under the weight of war”.

“Security, predictability and accountability are the cornerstones of a vibrant private equity and venture capital market, framed by the laws and regulations in which the market operates, as part of global value chains,” both Invest Europe and the BVCA said in their separate statements.

The private equity community is assessing how the crisis in Ukraine could impact private markets portfolios, PEI reported on Monday. Institutional investors including Australia’s Future Fund, the New York City Retirement Systems, Canadian pension fund BCI and Colorado’s Public Employees’ Retirement Association have said they plan to divest holdings in Russian companies, though it is unclear whether any exposure is held via their private equity portfolios.

Private equity participants PEI has spoken to since last Thursday say that while they have limited or no exposure to assets in Russia, a cause for concern is that the valuations of underlying companies could take a hit from geopolitical uncertainty. A source close to KKR, which does not have any offices in Russia or Ukraine, noted the buyout giant was continuing to assess the impact and is in regular dialogue with LPs on geopolitical developments and their investments. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Switzerland-headquartered Partners Group said that second and third-order impacts would take time to unfold, and could spiral in unexpected ways.

– Carmela Mendoza contributed to this report, which first appeared in affiliate publication Private Equity International