EV Private Equity invests in Evolution Engineering

EV Private Equity has invested in Evolution Engineering Inc. Financial terms weren’t announced. Evolution Engineering, of Calgary, provides products and engineering services to the measurement while drilling market.

PRESS RELEASE 

Evolution Engineering Inc. (“Evolution” or “the Company”) today announced the completion of an investment from EV Private Equity. The funds will be used to accelerate the Company’s North American growth and expand product development related to its market leading EVO ONE measurement while drilling (“MWD”) platform and related directional drilling technologies.

“Evolution now has additional resources to pursue its aggressive growth strategy and build on its industry leading directional drilling technologies,” said Paul Crilly, Evolution’s CEO. “The growth capital also positions us to ensure that our customers will continue to benefit from the highest level of product innovation, service and support. In parallel, we will be accelerating our marketing efforts, serving the needs of clients throughout North America and around the world.”

“We are delighted to support the on-going business and vision of Evolution Engineering’s team, whose EVO ONE MWD systems are already enabling the drilling of the industry’s most extreme horizontal wellbores,” said Matthew Anstead, EV Private Equity partner. “We believe that Evolution is well positioned for further growth, particularly in the horizontal shale plays of the US and Canada.”

About Evolution Engineering

Building upon its patented and proven Unified Telemetry platform, Evolution delivers purpose-built MWD products that exceed today’s drilling requirements for performance and reliability. The company’s flagship MWD system, EVO ONE, was built to provide a single, highly reliable MWD tool suitable for every drilling requirement. By designing and manufacturing these systems in-house, Evolution engineered out the most common MWD tool failure modes while combining EM and Mud Pulse technology into a single Unified Telemetry with a one-size-fits-all probe design. By designing extremely reliable, high data rate, large bandwidth communication technology, Evolution is at the forefront of developing the Subsurface Internet TM. Evolution Engineering Inc. is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta and Conroe, Texas.

For more information visit Evolutioneng.com.

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New ownership strengthens OptoFidelity’s resources and production capacity

Tesi

Changyuan Group Ltd (“Changyuan”) has acquired 100% of OptoFidelity Oy (“OptoFidelity”) bringing together a unique combination of test & measurement solutions and capabilities available to customers worldwide. With Changyuan and OptoFidelity joining forces, customers will also enjoy many complementary benefits given Changyuan’s strong presence in Asia and Optofidelity respectively in Europe and in the US.

Picture: Tommi Turunen

OptoFidelity is a global market leader in designing robots and systems for testing smart devices. The company’s products are used to test the performance and reliability of touch-screen interfaces. The world’s leading technology firms rank among OptoFidelity’s customers, including Google, China Mobile and Atmel. There is strong demand for the company’s testing solutions also from the automotive industry and in the development of virtual reality applications.

Changyuan Group Ltd is a high-tech enterprise set up by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1986, specializing in R&D, manufacturing and service of EV-related materials, intelligent plant equipment and solutions, smart grid equipment.

“Our new Chinese partner will boost our growth, provide us with more resources and the capacity to deliver our test technology to our global customers worldwide, and give us access to Chinese smart device manufacturers. Within Changyuan we will be part of the conglomerate’s smart device production technology cluster, with a combined offering in test automation that is truly unique,” says OptoFidelity’s CEO Pertti Aimonen.

“To succeed in international competition, companies in the testing industry need cutting-edge technology, substantial capital and adequate manufacturing resources. OptoFidelity’s strength is testing technology, and we envisage a surge of growth now that Changyuan provides us with the other two,” comments OptoFidelity’s Board Chairman Antti Sivula.

“We are impressed by OptoFidelity’s rapid growth, test technology and prestigious customers. The company’s expertise and technology are unmatched, not only in robotics for test solutions but also in new growth sectors such as virtual reality applications and testing recycled phones. We will provide OptoFidelity with the manufacturing capacity it needs and with new customers close to end-customers in the People’s Republic of China. We will continue OptoFidelity’s growth story by building it into a world-class testing automation company,” explains Erbing Lu, Chief Executive Officer, Changyuan Group.

Pertti Aimonen, Tapio Koskinen and Kimmo Jokinen founded OptoFidelity in 2005. They were brought together by their desire to expand internationally and to do business with testing and measuring systems. The company has grown strongly, generating net sales in 2016 of EUR 20 million, of which exports accounted for 95%. OptoFidelity’s target is to reach sales of EUR 100 million or so by the end of 2020.

Strong growth in Finland will continue

“We’ve always recruited “MacGyver-minded” people who love testing technology and want to solve customers’ problems with passionate creativity. We will stay true to this culture in the future also,” Aimonen points out.

“We aim to accelerate growth through our Chinese partner by joining forces. We plan to keep Tampere and Oulu as our centres of expertise and to recruit more talent in those cities as our business grows.”

Finnish investors Tesi and Vision+ helped boost the company’s growth up to this point. Both investors see the improved growth opportunities that the industrial partnership offers as a positive forward step.

“OptoFidelity’s development from an R&D subcontractor into an industry leader in test automation solutions is exemplary, and demonstrates the company’s ability to predict customer needs over the long term. A primary aim of the Chinese partner was to acquire a highly skilled team to function as part of the Chinese parent company. We believe that this partnership will strengthen OptoFidelity both locally in Tampere, Finland, and in the global market,” says Tesi’s Investment Director Jussi Sainiemi.

Further information:

Pertti Aimonen, Chief Executive Officer, OptoFidelity Oy. Email: pertti.aimonen@optofidelity.com
Tel: +358 40 7749259 (available week 35 UTC – 7 h)

Antti Sivula, Chairman of the Board, Email: antti.sivula@optofidelity.com Tel: +358 40 843 5839

Erbing Lu, Chief Executive Officer Changyuan Group Ltd. Email: luerbing@cyg.com Tel: +86 135-0285-2066

Jussi Sainiemi, Investment Director, Tesi Email: jussi.sainiemi@tesi.fi 
Tel: +358 40 564 4660

Marko Tulonen, Co-founder & Partner, Vision+  Email: marko.tulonen@visionplus.fi
Tel. +358 40 508 9848

About Changyuan Group Ltd
Changyuan Group Ltd is a high-tech enterprise set up by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1986, specializing in R&D, manufacturing and service of EV-related materials, intelligent plant equipment and solutions, smart grid equipment. The company is a global partner for several industry-leading companies. The company headquartered is in Shenzhen, China See: www.cyg.com/web/

About OptoFidelity
OptoFidelity Oy is driven by a passion to innovate and design test and production solutions for mobile devices, sensors and electronics used in smart devices. The company is a global partner for several industry-leading companies. The company is headquartered in Tampere, Finland See: www.optofidelity.com

About Tesi
Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd) is a venture capital and private equity company that accelerates companies’ success stories by investing in them directly and via funds. Tesi always invests together with other investors, providing them with access to high quality deal flow in Finland. Our investments under management total 1 billion euros and we have altogether 723 companies in portfolio. www.tesi.fi / @TesiFII

About Vision+
Vision+ is a capital fund investing in Finnish digital startups and growth companies. The size of the fund is €50m. The company has 87 investment projects in its portfolio. Investors in the fund include Nokia, Microsoft, the City of Oulu, The Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, Finnish Industry Investment (Tesi), the FII-managed FoF Growth fund, and a number of pension funds. www.visionplus.fi

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Partners Group publishes market outlook for H2 2017: ‘In search of platform-building opportunities’

Partners Group logo

aar-Zug, Switzerland, 30 August 2017

Partners Group publishes market outlook for H2 2017: ‘In search of platform-building opportunities’

Partners Group today publishes its H2 2017 Private Markets Navigator report, which shares the firm’s mid-term outlook and investment preferences for all private markets asset classes.

Introducing the report, Steffen Meister, Partner, Delegate of the Board of Directors, and Chairman of the Relative Value Committee at Partners Group, says: “We continue to believe in a base case macroeconomic projection of sustained low but steady growth. However, after nearly a decade of rising markets, and with a shift away from extremely loose monetary policy, there is the risk of a deviation from our base case. Identifying anchor assets with platform-building potential in above-average growth segments and testing their resilience to adverse economic scenarios is key to outperformance in this environment.”

A short summary of the views presented in the H2 2017 Private Markets Navigator:

Private equity: the prospect of different potential macroeconomic outcomes paired with high valuations makes for a challenging investment environment. To continue to generate sustainable returns, we focus on ‘platform investments’ through which we can develop resilient market leaders at a reasonable price. Next to platform investments, we maintain two additional major investment strategies: we aim to find ‘category winners’, which are leaders in terms of market share or growth potential in sub-sectors benefiting from trend-based tailwinds, and seek out ‘niche leaders’ with strong defensive capabilities. A recent example of our ability to capture a category winner is our acquisition of Cerba HealthCare, a leading European operator of clinical pathology laboratories.

Private real estate: an uncertain market environment has prompted us to take a more measured investment approach. We seek properties and locations benefiting from social, demographic and technological trends and remain focused on identifying assets with value creation potential. To crystallize value, we buy assets in rebounding markets below replacement cost, we ‘buy, fix, and sell’ older properties in great locations that are in need of active asset management and we selectively develop core. The European office market, for instance, offers opportunities to buy properties below replacement cost and upgrade their design to cater to the changing ways in which people live and work. One such opportunity is represented by our acquisition of CB16 Tower in La Défense, Paris.

Private debt: while many market participants have been willing to pursue more aggressive structures with even lower pricing, we favor more conservatively structured investment opportunities which we source and negotiate outside of traditional syndicated loan markets. We continue to focus on supporting successful sponsors and management teams in their buy-and-build strategies, on offering creative structures that support companies’ specific cash flow profiles and working capital needs, and on targeting niche industries where we have the depth of experience and confidence in underlying growth fundamentals. For example, based on our long track record of investment in the restaurant industry, we recently invested in Checkers, a quick service restaurant chain in the US.

Private infrastructure: as infrastructure asset valuations continue on their steady upward trajectory, especially in the core space, our investment focus remains firmly on assets that offer value creation potential, with platform-building being our preferred strategy. We consider platform investments in all sectors of the infrastructure market and currently see the most attractive opportunities within the communications and energy infrastructure spaces. Proactively building core assets instead of buying them continues to be our preferred strategy for renewable power generation assets, particularly in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. One example is our investment in Sapphire Wind Farm, a 270MW onshore wind project in Australia.

To request a copy of the report, please contact Milevka Grceva: milevka.grceva@partnersgroup.com

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Cinven to sell CPA Global

Cinven

International private equity firm, Cinven, today announces it has agreed to sell CPA Global, the world’s leading Intellectual Property (‘IP’) management and technology company, to Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. (‘LGP’), a leading US buyout firm, for an undisclosed consideration.

CPA Global is the world’s leading provider of IP software, services and data & analytics for corporates and law firms. The business manages more than two million patents for more than 10,000 customers across the globe. The business has 23 offices worldwide and operates from its headquarters in Jersey, Channel Islands.

CPA Global

Cinven acquired CPA Global in March 2012 as part of its strategy of investing in world-class European-headquartered companies where it can support global growth using its sector expertise and Asian portfolio capabilities.

Cinven acquired the business directly from a group of IP law firms who had originally established the company.  Under Cinven’s ownership, CPA Global has achieved strong growth, accelerated its global expansion, and led a successful transformation into a technology-led business.

Over the past five years, Cinven has worked closely with CPA Global’s management team to:

  • Achieve double-digit organic EBITDA growth in the company’s core business of IP software and renewals, driven by consistent increases in the total global stock of patents;
  • Drive significant investment in CPA Global’s technology platform, software suite and IP data and analytics proposition;
  • Develop new innovative products for IP professionals to automate IP processes and workflows (including CPA Global File, and CPA Global’s proprietary IP PlatformTM);
  • Complete six bolt-on acquisitions in the IP management sector, including three in the United States, two in Europe, and one in Asia;
  • Accelerate the company’s geographic expansion, particularly in China and South Korea, both organically and through acquisitions; and
  • Transition to a best-in-class management team, led by CEO, Simon Webster, and CFO, Ben Gujral.

Stuart McAlpine, Managing Partner at Cinven, said:

“Cinven acquired CPA Global because we saw an exceptional company in a highly attractive market, with an opportunity to transform the business from a service provider into a technology-led business, as Cinven has done with other successful investments, such as Amadeus.”

“During our ownership, Cinven and CPA Global’s management team have driven this transformation as well as consolidated the sector through a buy-and-build strategy. CPA Global is now in a strong position to continue taking advantage of the market opportunity.”

Anthony Cardona, Principal at Cinven, added:

“Cinven and CPA Global’s entrepreneurial management team have led CPA Global’s transition to a technology-led business, by investing in the company’s software suite and technology platform, and extending into other parts of the IP process such as patent filing and patent data & analytics.”

“Cinven also supported CPA Global’s global expansion – with the support of our Portfolio team in Asia – and executed multiple bolt-on acquisitions across the world.  We wish the company and its management team, led by Simon Webster, success in its next stage of growth.”

Simon Webster, Chief Executive Officer, CPA Global, commented:

“Cinven has provided huge support to CPA Global over the past five years. Our investment in technology has enabled us to provide an unrivalled integrated technology platform for end-to-end IP management for both corporates and law firms. In addition, we have successfully built our proposition to span the entire IP lifecycle, providing products and services to customers to support innovation, ensure patent protection, and enable companies to commercialise their IP. We would like to thank the Cinven team and are now looking forward to the next exciting phase of our growth.”

This transaction follows Cinven’s recent sale of HEG, the web hosting provider, to GoDaddy Inc. in the US in April 2017.  During 2017, Cinven has also realised its investments in SLV, the residential and technical lighting provider (Germany); Avio Space Propulsion, the international operator of space launchers and space propulsion (Italy); and will complete the partial realisation of Visma, the provider of business critical software (Nordics and Benelux).

The completion of the sale of CPA Global is subject to customary regulatory approval.

Advisors to Cinven on this transaction included: Goldman Sachs (M&A), J.P. Morgan (M&A), Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (legal), Boston Consulting Group (commercial), Ernst & Young (financial), BDO (tax).

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Inside Secure completes the acquisition of Meontrust

Vendep

Aix-en-Provence, France, August 28, 2017 – Inside Secure (Euronext Paris: INSD), at the heart of security solutions for mobile and connected devices, today announced it has completed the acquisition of Meontrust, a Finland-based cybersecurity emerging-growth company, in an all-cash cash transaction of up to 5 million euros.

Meontrust has developed MePIN™, a flexible authentication, identification and authorization technology, ideally suited for the financial, insurance, retail and telecom markets. MePIN dynamically authenticates a user with a tap, PIN, fingerprint or face recognition, depending on the service provider. It runs on all major operating systems and is flexible to serve small to very large customers. The MePIN solution is provided as an on-premise deployment or as a cloud-based service with customers paying on a subscription or “pay-per-use” basis.

Meontrust’s authentication capability is vital in serving the strong demand seen from banks to meet the more stringent authentication requirements for all online payments imposed by the European Union by 2018. These include PSD2 (Payment Services Directive) and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). This acquisition is a significant step in accelerating the deployment of Inside Secure strategy.

For more information

Indside Secure Press Release

Vendep Capital

Vendep Capital Fund invests primarily in Finnish startups offering software to B2B customers. In April 2017, Vendep Capital launched a new €40 million fund aimed at SaaS startups. The fund was raised from Finnish private and institutional investors such as Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd) and The Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra. The fund may make investments alone or as part of a syndicate.

www.vendep.com

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Sweco expands in Belgian building consultancy market

SwecoSweco is acquiring Snoeck & Partners, a Belgian building consultancy with a well-established market position in western Belgium.“Snoeck & Partners is a good complement to Sweco’s Belgian offering. This acquisition strengthens our presence in western Belgium and supports the continuous ambition to be the most approachable and committed partner with recognized expertise,” says Tomas Carlsson, President and CEO of Sweco.Snoeck & Partners was established in 1958 and offers services in architecture, structural engineering, and infrastructure. It has a well-established position in the West-Flemish region of Belgium, 24 employees, and an office in Kortrijk. Net sales in 2016 were EUR 3.3 million.

“Joining Sweco is the right next step for our company, from aspects such as our shared view on operations and customer focus, as well as Sweco’s international presence. We look forward to work together with our new colleagues, solve our customers’ challenges, and plan and design the cities and communities of the future,” says Hugo Snoeck, Managing Director of Snoeck & Partners.

“We are happy to welcome our new colleagues at Snoeck & Partners to Sweco. Our companies are well-matched in areas of customer offerings and culture. This acquisition strengthens our ability to further serve customers with local presence and global expertise,” says Erwin Malcorps, Managing Director of Sweco Belgium.

For additional information, please contact:Tomas Carlsson, President and CEO, Sweco, tomas.carlsson@sweco.se, +46 8 695 66 60Erwin Malcorps, Managing Director, Sweco Belgium, erwin.malcorps@swecobelgium.be, +32 473 888 202Per Holmlund, Head of Public Relations, Sweco, p.holmlund@sweco.se, +46 73 156 03 12

Sweco plans and designs tomorrow’s communities and cities. Our work produces sustainable buildings, efficient infrastructure and access to electricity and clean water. With 14,500 employees in Europe, we offer our customers the right expertise for every situation. We carry out projects in 70 countries annually throughout the world. Sweco is Europe’s leading engineering and architecture consultancy, with sales of approximately SEK 16.5 billion (EUR 1.7 billion). The company is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. www.swecogroup.com

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With $2.6M in funding, Gabi wants to ensure you always have the best insurance rate

Project A

With $2.6M in funding, Gabi wants to ensure you always have the best insurance rate “Something this important should not be so complex.” – Hanno Fichtner

Gabi, a San Francisco based insurance startup, has raised $2.6M in seed funding from A Capital, SV Angel, Project A and a group of angels. Gabi is a personal insurance platform that ensures customers always have the right coverage at the best price.

Gabi provides insurance shoppers with unprecedented visibility into rates, in a single place where they can compare all the major insurance companies’ rates and instantly get a quote without having to go to multiple sites and fill out forms. Moreover, Gabi’s quotes are completely unbiased, as they’re driven by technology rather than insurance agents focused on commissions.

Gabi’s powerful technology reviews and compares people’s current insurance rates to major insurer’s rates, then finds the right coverage at the best rate possible. At signup, customers link their car and home insurance accounts or send their policies to Gabi. Gabi then analyzes their current coverage and compares the rate with those of major insurance companies to find a better price for the same coverage.

“Our technology allows us to put the customer first again, simplify the process and save consumers a lot of money every year,” said Gabi co-founder and CPO Krzysztof Kujawa. “Our algorithm looks into the existing insurance policies of our customers and automatically checks for savings across the 20 biggest insurance companies,” explains Kujawa. “Customers no longer need to provide their detailed insurance information. By scanning existing insurance documents to create an insurance profile for each customer, Gabi saves the customer this tedious step.”

“Before Gabi, insurance customers typically had to fill out long forms, then get quotes from a handful of companies and make relatively uninformed decisions, never hearing back from their agent after they’ve purchased coverage,” says founder and CEO, Hanno Fichtner. Gabi is turning this model around by letting the technology do the tedious and time-consuming search for the best insurance, faster and with more transparency for customers than ever before.

The Gabi algorithm has already found savings of more than $460 per year on average for more than 60% of its customers. After the initial comparison at signup, Gabi constantly checks for better offers and functions as a digital insurance folder that allows customers to manage all insurance policies one place. As the customer’s life situation changes, e.g. purchase of a new car, moves, etc., Gabi adjusts its insurance searches accordingly.

Gabi is currently live in California, reviewing insurance for personal lines like auto, home, renters, umbrella and life. Gabi is also free, and customers can be sure to never receive spam or sales calls.

With the engineering team based in Lodz, Poland, and headquarters in San Francisco, the Gabi team consists of 12 people. Gabi was founded in 2016 by Hanno Fichtner, Krzysztof Kujawa, Vincenz Klemm and Pawel Olszewski.

About Gabi
Gabi Personal Insurance Agency, Inc. is an insurance platform that ensures customers always have the right coverage at the best price. Gabi has launched in CA in January 2017 and is backed by A Capital, Project A, SV Angel and a group of angels. It was founded in 2016 by Hanno Fichtner, Krzysztof Kujawa, Vincenz Klemm and Pawel Olszewski.

Contact
Hanno Fichtner, press@gabi.com

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Partners Group to acquire United States Infrastructure Corporation

Partners Group logo

Partners Group to acquire , a leading utility services provider in the US.

 

Partners Group, the global private markets investment manager, has agreed to acquire United States Infrastructure Corporation (“USIC” or the company”), a leading provider of underground utility locating services, on behalf of its clients.

The Company is being acquired from affiliates of Leonard Green & Partners, L.P.(“LGP”). Formed in 2008 and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, USIC specializes in locating pipes and cables for utility customers across the US and Canada.

The Company employs more than 7,500 technicians and performs over 70 million utility locating services annually ahead of excavation or maintenance works.  USIC currently serves around 1,000 customers in all major utility segments, including cable, telecommunications, electricity, gas, water and sewage.

Following the completion of the acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval, Partners Group will work with USIC’s management team, led by CEO Rob Tullman, to further grow the business.

Value creation initiatives will be aimed at enhancing operations through investments in technology and data management, expanding service offerings in adjacent markets, and growing the Company both organically and through select acquisitions.

Rob Tullman, CEO of USIC, states: ” United States Infrastructure Corporation is passionate about delivering highly responsive, quality-driven solutions that protect our customers’ utility assets. Having enjoyed strong growth over the last few years, we were looking for a partner with experience in corporate asset management and a strong network to enable us to build on our vision of further innovation and service expansion. We believe we have found this in Partners Group and look forward to working with the firm in the months and years to come.”

David Layton, Partner and Head of Private Equity at Partners Group,comments: ” In the current investment environment, we are looking for stable businesses with resilient cash flows and strong growth prospects.

With its market-leading position, blue chip customer base,and exceptional management team, United States Infrastructure Corporation encompasses all of these traits and has in fact been on our radar for several years due to its impressive track record of growth. We are therefore delighted to partner with Rob Tullman and the rest of the management team in this investment.

“Juri Jenkner, Partner and Head of Private Infrastructure at Partners Group, adds: “United States Infrastructure Corporation is a great fit with our investment strategy. The Company provides an essential service to US utilities, and has stable cash flows underpinned by a highly creditworthy customer base.

This investment also highlights the strengths of Partners Group’s broad private markets platform and collaborative investment approach across business lines.” “We are proud to have been associated with the USIC team over several years of outstanding growth and we are tremendously grateful for the amazing job that CEO Rob Tullman and the rest of the USIC team have done,” said Tim Flynn, Partner at LGP. ”

We look forward to seeing continued success for the entire USIC family supported by Partners Group, one of the leading firms in our business. “Ropes & Gray LLP and KPMG LLP are serving as legal and financial advisors, respectively, to Partners Group. Deutsche Bank and Harris Williams acted as financial advisors to USIC, while Latham & Watkins LLP served as the Company’s legal counsel.

About Partners Group Partners Group is a global private markets investment management firm with over EUR 57 billion (USD 66billion) in investment programs under management in private equity, private real estate, private infrastructure and private debt. The firm manages a broad range of customized portfolios for an international clientele of institutional investors. Partners Group has its global headquarter s in Zug, Switzerland; its US headquarters in Denver, Colorado; and its Asian headquarters in Singapore. Additionally, the firm has offices in San Francisco, Houston, New York, São Paulo, London, Guernsey, Paris, Luxembourg, Milan, Munich, Dubai, Mumbai, Manila, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo and Sydney. The firm employs over 950 people and is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (symbol: PGHN) with a major ownership by its partners and employees. www.partnersgroup.com

About Leonard Green & Partners, L.P.

Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. (“LGP”) is a leading private equity investment firm founded in 1989 and based in Los Angeles. The firm partners with experienced management teams and often with founders to invest in market-leading companies. Since inception, LGP has invested in over 80 companies in the form of traditional buyouts, going -private transactions, recapitalizations, growth equity, and selective public equity and debt positions. The firm primarily focuses on companies providing services, including consumer, business, and healthcare services, as well as retail.

 

www.leonardgreen.com

 

 

Partners Group investor relations contact

Philip Sauer

Phone: +41 41 784 66 60

Email: philip.sauer@partnersgroup.com

Partners Group media relations contact

Jenny Blinch

Phone: +41 41 784 65 26

Email: jenny.blinch@partnersgroup.com

 

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Aquila Capital acquires Danish wind farm

Aquila Capital

Aquila Capital has acquired a wind energy project in Denmark near Kappel on Lolland with an installed capacity of over 25 MW. With the acquisition, Aquila Capital’s transaction volume in the wind sector has now surpassed 1,000 MW.

The project consists of seven wind turbines, all of which are 3.6 MW, by Danish manufacturer Vestas. Six of these are V117 turbines and one is a V126 turbine. The project has entered into a long-term full maintenance contract with Vestas. Due to the project being already operational and takeover having occurred subsequent to final technical examination and certification Aquila Capital is not exposed to any construction risk. Seller of the windpark is European Energy AS.

Denmark offers excellent conditions for wind energy investments, as evidenced by average wind speeds of 8.5 m/s at turbine hub height of this project. Operators of wind energy projects in Denmark receive a feed-in premium for a defined number of full-load hours in addition to the market price realised at the Nordpool electricity exchange. In the case of onshore wind turbines, the premium amounts are up to DKK 250/MWh (approximately EUR 34/MWh). In addition, wind farm operators receive compensation for grid stabilisation charges during the first 20 years of operation after grid connection.

Susanne Wermter, Head of Energy & Infrastructure EMEA at Aquila Capital, said: “Due to the conditions of the region, Northern Europe is very attractive for wind energy investments. For the project on Lolland, we were also able to secure one of the last projects to receive a high feed-in premium.”

Roman Rosslenbroich, CEO and Co-Founder of Aquila Capital, said: “The combination of excellent wind ressources with a very transparent support scheme means Denmark offers an attractive diversification to the wind energy projects we manage. Due to the highly professional sector environment and the well-developed market for commercial power purchase agreements, we believe Denmark will continue to offer an appealing environment for professional investments.”

About Aquila Capital

Established in 2001, Aquila Capital is committed to provide institutional investors worldwide with alternative investment solutions in real assets, financial and private markets. Applying a multi-disciplinary investment approach, Aquila Capital’s range of alternative investments is managed by dedicated specialists in their respective asset classes and underpinned by an infrastructure that combines strong operations, stringent corporate governance and a successful track record. Aquila Capital has been dedicated to develop alternative investment solutions since its establishment. Over 200 professionals across eight offices globally are working across the whole value chain of alternative investments to generate stable, positive returns for investors.

Responsible Publisher:

Aquila Capital

Katrin Rosendahl

Tel: +49 40 87 5050-150

Fax: +49 40 87 5050-129

PR Agency:

Citigate Dewe Rogerson

Patrick Evans / STephen Sheppard / James Madsen

Tel: +44 20 7638 9571

Fax:

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Vendep Capital invests in Brella

Tesi

Brella, developer of a networking application for business events that was founded in Jyväskylä, Finland, in 2016, has raised €1.2 million in private equity. The lead investor was Vendep Capital together with a team of international angel investors, including from the USA, France and Finland.

The investment will allow Brella to expand its operations in the USA, which is already the conmpany’s most important market. In addition, the company will be able to hire over a dozen product developers, as well as sales and marketing staff, in Finland.

The idea for the service was born when the company’s founders attended numerous business events while studying but generally came away from these events with a lot of marketing material instead of good contacts.

Markus Kauppinen, CEO of Brella, explains: “Events have been the best way to bring together people and ideas for thousands of years, yet until now no one has created a service that could intelligently analyse event visitors and their needs in advance, making it easier to find the best contacts among all the people attending the event.”

Today the service has users in over thirty countries around the world, and its customers include Slush, Samsung, Microsoft and TechCrunch.

The company’s aim is to enable 100 million new business contacts by 2020.

“Networking is valued in the USA even more than it is in Finland. Unlike in Finland, it is often difficult to find the contact information for decision-makers, so events offer a rare opportunity to actually meet them,” says Jyrki Paananen, COO of Brella.

“As the lead investor, we wanted to support a great team and invest in their ambitious growth plan. The market demand for this service was proven by Brella’s tremendous international growth in its first year, when it attracted almost a hundred clients,” says Sakari Pihlava, General Partner, Vendep Capital.

 

Further information:

Markus Kauppinen, CEO, Brella
+358405749287
markus@brella.io

Sakari Pihlava, General Partner, Vendep Capital
+358407713941
sakari.pihlava@vendep.com

Brella is a networking application for business events. The service helps event visitors to grow their business network and meet relevant people by means of an intelligent matchmaking algorithm. The mobile and web application has helped hundreds of thousands of people to find jobs, colleagues, investors, and other business contacts. www.brella.io

Vendep Capital Fund invests primarily in Finnish startups offering software to B2B customers. In April 2017, Vendep Capital launched a new €40 million fund aimed at SaaS startups. The fund was raised from Finnish private and institutional investors such as Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd) and The Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra. The fund may make investments alone or as part of a syndicate. www.vendep.com

Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd) is a venture capital and private equity company that accelerates companies’ success stories by investing in them directly and via funds. Tesi always invests together with other investors, providing them with access to high quality deal flow in Finland. Our investments under management total 1 billion euros and we have altogether 723 companies in portfolio. www.tesi.fi // @TesiFII

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