Main Capital, a Dutch buyout firm focused on software deals, is pushing to more than double its assets under management to €15 billion ($17.5 billion) in the next three years, betting on rising demand from US investors for European assets.
The private equity firm, which currently manages about €6.8 billion, plans to open an office in London next year to help US investors seeking out investment opportunities in the region, Chief Executive Officer Charly Zwemstra said in an interview in The Hague, where the firm is based. The firm already has offices in Boston, Paris, Stockholm, and Düsseldorf.
A rising number of US investors are casting their eyes to Europe amid stretched stock valuations in the US and fears President Donald Trump’s tariffs may hurt the economy. Some are seeking out less politically risky markets as a consequence of eroded trust in US politics, according to Morningstar strategist Michael Field.
“We talk to the biggest institutions in the US and there’s clearly a lot of attention for Europe,” Zwemstra said. Offices on both sides of the Atlantic are a “very good proposition in a growing market.”
Rising military spending is one area that’s stoking demand for European assets such as defense contractors. NATO members, under pressure from Trump, are bulking up their arsenals and boosting defense spending. NATO’s total military expenditure is set to rise $2.6 trillion to $13.4 trillion by 2030, according to the Transnational Institute, a Dutch think tank.
About 64% of arms imports by European NATO countries came from the US between 2020 to 2024, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. But interest in building Europe’s own defense industry is rapidly expanding.
“These days, you’re literally asked: ‘Are you planning to launch a fund focused entirely on defense? We’d be happy to support that,’” Zwemstra said. Five years ago, he says, “that was a no-go.”
The demand is also being seen in the credit markets, which will provide most of the cash that European defense manufacturers need to ramp up output.
Main’s ambitions for growing assets under management come as private equity investments slow both globally and in Europe. Geopolitical and trade uncertainty, including from tariffs, caused investments to decline to $363.7 billion in the second quarter, down from $505.3 billion in the first, according to a July 24 report from Gavin Geminder, global head of private equity at KPMG. He also warned buyout investors will likely remain cautious heading into the third quarter.
Zwemstra says Main is seeking to maintain exits at a consistent level, ensuring investors see returns even amid the uneven outlook.
“The world won’t look any better in a year, and your relative return will decrease if you wait too long,” he said. “So you do have to sell in time, even if it means working a little harder.”
Before Main Capital, Zwemstra was a partner at AlpInvest, specializing in technology investments. Now at Main he solely focuses on software businesses that he says have proven to be profitable and resilient.
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