EQT : says majority of exit pipeline pushed beyond 2020

The pandemic has led to fewer investments for buyout group EQT this year and a sharply slower pace of exits, the company said on Thursday as it reported results for the January-June period.

EQT's funds invested 2.0 billion euros ($2.37 billion) in the period compared with 5.7 billion for the same period in 2019.

"Exit activities have also been significantly slower with the majority of the exit pipeline anticipated to be executed beyond 2020," EQT AB CEO Christian Sinding said in a statement.

EQT's adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) fell to 80 million euros in the first six months of the year, from 133 million a year earlier.

(Reporting by Johannes Hellstrom; editing by Niklas Pollard)