Dutch parliament to hold PE roundtable

The Dutch parliament has organized a roundtable meeting with private equity experts at the end of April in order to get a better picture of the “harmful effects” of private equity and to discuss changes in legislation, according to Dutch newspaper NRC.

The event will be focused on “fact-finding,” according to Tjarda Molenaar, managing director at Dutch private equity and venture capital association NVP. NVP’s president Philip Houben will be attending the meeting.

The Labor Party is leading the initiative, concerned about the poor performance and bankruptcy at a handful of Dutch portfolio companies, including childcare group Estro (owned by HIG Capital) and waste processor Van Gansewinkel (owned by KKR).

Private equity and venture capital firms invest an average of €2 billion annually in the Dutch market, and their portfolio companies employ approximately 350,000 people, according to NVP.

“We expect there will be a discussion on the economic and social impact the sector has,” Molenaar said in an email to pfm. “Quite rightfully, there will be questions about how these investments are done and about how private equity reacts in cases where companies develop less favorably than expected.”

The guest list for the roundtable includes representatives from Dutch private equity firms such as NPM Capital and Egeria as well as KKR. The parliament has also invited economists, tax professionals and finance professors to weigh in at the event.

KKR, NPM and Egeria did not respond to requests for comment.