Claes Ekstrom
Mr. Ekstrom has over twenty-five years of experience in asset-backed investing, mergers & acquisitions and corporate finance across healthcare and various other industries. As Head of Life Sciences since inception of the strategy in 2017, Mr. Ekstrom has overseen over $1.4 billion of debt commitments through third quarter 2024 and the funding of over $900 million of these debt commitments. As Portfolio Manager, he is responsible for leading the investment process, the investment portfolio surveillance and the Scientific Advisory Board activities. Mr. Ekstrom is responsible for the firm’s relationship-centric deal sourcing and business development strategy. He is responsible for the initial due diligence review of qualified leads to determine whether the opportunity aligns with Innovatus’ investment criteria. Moreover, Mr. Ekstrom is responsible for deal structuring and term sheet negotiations. Mr. Ekstrom leads the deal team that conducts due diligence, which includes comprehensive review of the company’s underlying scientific platform, products, competitive threats, reimbursement and IP portfolio. Following the execution of a term sheet, Mr. Ekstrom and the investment team will negotiate all loan, royalty, and security agreements and ancillary agreements. As a member of the Investment Committee, Mr. Ekstrom is responsible for presenting and recommending new investments for approval to the Investment Committee. Upon inclusion in the portfolio, along with the Life Sciences Team, is responsible for managing and monitoring existing investments.
Prior to joining Innovatus Capital Partners, LLC in January of 2016, Mr. Ekstrom was a member of the Perella Weinberg Partners' Asset Based Value Strategy Investment Team, working closely with David Schiff and Andrew Dym, where he focused on corporate, healthcare, and consumer opportunities. From 2011 to 2013, Mr. Ekstrom was a full-time consultant to the Asset Based Value Strategy Investment Team and provided advice on a range of matters. From 2009 to 2011, Mr. Ekstrom was a Managing Director at Bentley Associates, a boutique investment bank focusing on middle market M&A and private placements. From 2007 to 2009, he served as a Director in the M&A group at Merrill Lynch & Co. From 2004 to 2007, he was a senior member of the healthcare investment banking group at Lehman Brothers, where he provided M&A and financing advice to leading healthcare companies and healthcare investors. Mr. Ekstrom started his investment banking career with Merrill Lynch & Co. in 1996 and was a member of the M&A group where he executed M&A transactions across a wide range of industries.
Mr. Ekstrom received a M.Sc. in Economics and Business from the Stockholm School of Economics.