Astorg Partners hired Lazard as financial advisor for selling again Luxembourg’s IQ-EQ (fka SGG), a provider of administrative and support services, to a continuation fund after having carried out the same transaction in 2021, Private Equity News reported.
The vendor firm is reportedly fundraising for its flagship vehicle Astorg IX that launched in November 2025, and for which set a target of 4.5 billion euros. Astorg raised from 8% to 12% the hurdle rate for its LPs (Private Equity International) In May 2024, Astorg VIII announced to have attracted 4.4 billion (press release).
According to Astorg, the new continuation fund for IQ-EQ would therefore provide investors in the 2021 vehicle with a new liquidity opportunity, whilst maintaining their exposure to a growing group.
In 2024, Astorg already put IQ-EQ on the block on the ground of an enterprise value of above 4 billion euros (Reuters) and a 200 million ebitda (see here a previous post by BeBeez). In July 2025, Bloomberg said that the asset attracted the interest of Blackstone, Permira, Carlyle, EQT, and TPG for an enterprise value of 5 billion. In January 2026, market rumours said that banks and private credit funds were willing to provide 2 billion worth debt facilities.
Astorg acquired IQ-EQ in 2016 from Belgium’s Cobepa (press release) and in 2019 rebranded it with its actual name (press release). Astorg moved the asset to a continuation fund in 2021. In 2022, the firm’s continuation fund raised 1.3 billion from Goldman Sachs Asset Management Vintage and AlpInvest (press release). This vehicle enabled investors in the old fund to realise the value of their stake, whilst leaving Astorg in charge of managing the asset and providing it with new resources to finance acquisitions and organic growth.
In December 2025, Financial News reported that tensions arisen between some of the employees-shareholders and the group regarding the conditions for the shares’ liquidation. The first continuation fund was not regarded a liquidity event fully equivalent to a sale for all employee investors. Some might have been able to realise only part of their holdings, whilst for others the conditions set out in the incentive schemes and exit clauses would have affected the realisable value. The newspaper also reported that some employees were considering starting a legal action but later abandoned it. IQ-EQ argued that such schemes were consistent with market practice. Over 350 employees are shareholders of the company. Should Astorg decide to transfer IQ-EQ to a second vehicle the issue could therefore emerge again regarding the possibility of realising the value of the shareholdings and the financial terms offered to management.
IQ-EQ acquired targets operating in the fields of servicing, fund administration, compliance, and capital market services. In 2026, the Luxembourg company completed the acquisition of Italian Zenith Global from Arrow Global (see here a previous post by BeBeez) and rebranded it as IQ-EQ Italy (press release). Umberto Rasori heads IQ-EQ Italy and manages assets worth above 50 billion as securitization master servicer. In July 2021, IQ-EQ said it acquired Davy Global Fund Management, a company that subsequently incorporated into the group and handles vehicles with investments in Italy such as Responsible & Sustainable Corporate Turnaround Fund (RSCT) (see here a previous post by BeBeez), Retail & Leisure that have Pillarstone as advisors (see here a previous post by BeBeez). IQ-EQ also managed Vajolet that purchased Italian shipping company Premuda in 2023 (see here a previous post by BeBeez). In 2025, Pillarstone supportedMarco Fiori (ceo) and Enrico Barbieri (cfo) for a management buyout of Permira (press release and see here a previous post by BeBeez)
