By Dominic Chopping 
 

STOCKHOLM--Swedish private-equity firm EQT AB said Thursday that its funds invested 2.8 billion euros ($3.37 billion) during the first quarter, with assets under management rising 64% on the year.

EQT said assets under management rose to EUR58.7 billion at the end of March from EUR35.9 billion at the end of March 2020. Total gross fund exits in the quarter amounted to EUR3.9 billion.

"Exit momentum was strong during the quarter as market conditions remained supportive, despite a rise in long-term interest rates and other factors impacting sentiment," Chief Executive Christian Sinding said.

"Looking ahead, we are fully focused on performance and delivering on our growth strategy and we remain committed to developing further," Mr. Sinding said.

In a separate announcement Thursday, EQT said its EQT IX fund has held its final close at EUR15.6 billion in fee-generating assets under management. EQT IX was launched in January 2020, made its first investment in July, and is currently 40%-45% invested.

Investment opportunities for EQT IX will focus on healthcare, telecommunications, media and technology and services, as well as in industrial technology.

Including its recent acquisition of Exeter Property Group, EQT has more than EUR67 billion of assets under management, spread across 26 active funds within Private Capital and Real Assets business segments.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 22, 2021 02:52 ET (06:52 GMT)