Key Takeaways from the 7th Benelux Private Equity Breakfast in Amsterdam
November 2025
Pedersen & Partners and CMS Netherlands co-hosted the 7th Benelux Private Equity Breakfast in Amsterdam.
The event brought together representatives from local and international private equity firms for discussions and networking around the latest Benelux private equity market trends and strategic insights.
The panel discussion was moderated by Poul Pedersen, Executive Chairman, Pedersen & Partners, and Mark Ziekman, Partner & Co-Head of the CMS Consumer Products Group, CMS Amsterdam.
Panelists included:
- Rist Brouwer - Managing Director, Intermediate Capital Group (ICG)
- Jacqueline van den Ende - Co-Founder & CEO, Carbon Equity
- Mieke Klanker - Head of Sustainability, Rivean Capital
- Derk Jan Kwik - Partner, KwikGielen Corporate Finance
- Cees Meeuwis - CEO & Founder, Orange Mills Ventures
- Chantal Stoffelsma - Investment Director, NPM Capital
- Ishaan Tewarie - Vice President, EQT Life Sciences
Lydia van der Meulen, Country Manager for the Netherlands, Pedersen & Partners summarised the key takeaways from the event:
- EQT completed a milestone exit in the Benelux by selling its stake in Merus to Genmab in September 2025 for roughly 8 billion USD in an all-cash transaction
- Exit volumes and DPI values are below historic levels. Quality assets are easy to exit, but the overall exit environment is challenging, resulting in an increased use of continuation funds.
- There has been a strong uptick in M&A and exit activity in Q3 2025
- External factors like an unpredictable political environment and lack of liquidity at LP level were highlighted as obstacles. For instance the intervention by the Dutch government in Chinese owned Nexperia is not positive for the Dutch/European semiconductor segment.
- ESG remains important both in deal assessment and value creation
- The members of the panel expressed a positive view on the outlook for 2026.
We thank all who attended and contributed to an engaging and thought-provoking morning.