BC Partners to Acquire United Group, the Leading Cable and Media Operator in South Eastern Europe

KKR

Investment further strengthens ambition of United Group as the regional leader in communication and media

KKR maintaining substantial minority stake

LONDON & AMSTERDAM–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sep. 27, 2018– Funds advised by BC Partners (“BC Partners”), a leading international investment firm, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement whereby BC Partners will acquire majority ownership of United Group B.V. (“United Group”) from KKR, a leading global investment firm. KKR will retain a substantial minority stake. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and the transaction is subject to relevant regulatory approvals.

United Group is the leading media and communication services provider across South East Europe. Through significant investments in digital infrastructure, content and proprietary technology, it provides market-leading services to its customers across the region. Over the past 18 years the Group has expanded its presence through both organic growth and acquisitions, now employing over 3,400 staff and providing services to over 1.8m homes.

Nikos Stathopoulos, Partner at BC Partners said: “We are delighted to partner with United Group’s management team and KKR to support the company’s next phase of growth. United Group is a high-quality asset, with defensive growth characteristics, leading infrastructure, differentiated content and loyal customers. Its attractive and integrated business model and regional leadership position it well for further organic and acquisitive growth.”

Since its investment in 2014, KKR has supported United Group to build the company into the leading provider of communications and media services in South Eastern Europe. United Group’s fibre and cable networks have the largest presence in the region, covering 1.82m homes which benefit from broadband speeds over 2.6x higher than local peers and high quality local and international content.

Jean-Pierre Saad, Managing Director at KKR said: “We are proud of the way in which United Group has developed over the last five years. It is a great example of a truly convergent operator across communications and media with market leading product innovation and services. We will remain closely committed to the further development of United Group and are looking forward to working with BC Partners and the management team to further strengthen the company’s growth.”

Morgan Stanley and LionTree are acting as advisers to BC Partners while Credit-Suisse is advising United Group.

-ENDS-

About BC Partners

BC Partners is a leading international investment firm with over EUR18 billion of assets under management in private equity and private credit. Established in 1986, BC Partners has played an active role in developing the European buy-out market for three decades. Today, BC Partners executives operate across markets as an integrated team through the firm’s offices in North America and Europe.

Since inception, BC Partners Private Equity has completed 104 private equity investments in companies with a total enterprise value of €129 billion and is currently investing its tenth private equity fund. On the Private Credit front BC Partners Credit is currently investing Special Opportunities Fund I. For more information, please visit www.bcpartners.com.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate and credit, with strategic manager partnerships that manage hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns for its fund investors by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and driving growth and value creation with KKR portfolio companies. KKR invests its own capital alongside the capital it manages for fund investors and provides financing solutions and investment opportunities through its capital markets business. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

Source: KKR

Media Contacts
For BC Partners
Henrietta Dehn / Jonathan Hodgkinson
Prosek Partners
Phone: +44(0)20 3878 8566
Email: pro-bcpartners@prosek.com
or
For KKR
Alastair Elwen
Finsbury
Phone: +44(0)20 7251 3801
Email: alastair.elwen@finsbury.com

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SKYLINE Renewables signs agreement to acquire second windfarm in NW Texas

Ardian

Acquisition of Hackberry Wind Farm more than triples Skyline‘s holdings Partnership between Ardian Infrastructure and Transatlantic Power Holdings continues to develop growing portfolio of US renewable energy assets

Portland, September 27, 2018: Skyline Renewables has agreed to acquire its second power generation asset, the 166 MW Hackberry Wind Farm in NW Texas, from Renewable Energy Systems Americas (RES).

The Hackberry Wind Farm in Shackelford County, Texas was established in 2008. It has 72 wind turbines and a PPA with the City of Austin. The Skyline Renewables acquisition entails a clean-up of the existing capital structure of the project, including the buyout of tax equity interests from GE Energy Financial Services and cash equity interests from RES as well a restructuring of the project debt facility. RES will continue to provide operations support for Hackberry during the transition of ownership.

“We have a clear goal – to become a leading North American clean independent energy platform,” said Skylines Renewables President & CEO, Martin Mugica. “To that end, RES has developed and managed Hackberry Wind Farm into a very attractive asset. This acquisition not only establishes Skyline with a robust foothold in the leading renewable energy state of Texas, it also provides us with additional resources for strategic growth in the near future.”

Skyline Renewables announced its first acquisition in March 2018, the 60 MW Whirlwind project, also in NW Texas. Skyline Renewables was created earlier this year as a partnership between Ardian and Transatlantic Power Holdings. Skyline Renewables will focus on acquiring operating and development projects in the onshore wind sector.

“As the industry transitions to the end of the PTC and new corporate tax reforms take effect, Skyline Renewables will continue its strategy to leverage opportunities in today’s renewable energy landscape in order to build a leading platform,” continued Mr. Mugica. “Skyline Renewables looks forward to capitalizing on more exciting opportunities in the near term.”

ABOUT SKYLINE RENEWABLES

Skyline Renewables is a partnership between Transatlantic Holdings (TPH) and Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, to establish a leading North American renewables platform with a total installed capacity of 3 GW. Skyline announced its first acquisition, Whirlwind, a 60MW windfarm in Texas, in March 2018. Skyline is led by CEO, Martin Mugica, a leading executive within the US clean energy sector with expertise in wind, solar, natural gas fired generation and power trading activities. Skyline Renewables’ leadership team features a number of the individuals who helped build and lead Iberdrola Renewables to become then the second largest and fastest growing renewables energy company in the US, at that time.

ABOUT RES

RES is the world’s largest independent renewable energy company active in a range of technologies including onshore and offshore wind, solar, energy storage and transmission and distribution. At the forefront of the industry for the last 35 years, RES has delivered more than 16 GW of renewable energy projects across the globe and supports an operational asset portfolio exceeding 3.5 GW worldwide for a large client base. RES employs more than 2,000 people and is active in 10 countries. For more information, visit www.res-group.com.

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$72bn managed or advised in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The company is majority-owned by its employees. It keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and focuses on delivering excellent investment performance to its global investor base. Through its commitment to shared outcomes for all stakeholders, Ardian’s activities fuel individual, corporate and economic growth around the world. Holding close its core values of excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship, Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 530 employees working from fourteen offices across Europe (Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich), the Americas (New York, San Francisco and Santiago) and Asia (Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo). It manages funds on behalf of more than 750 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Fund of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.
Ardian on Twitter @Ardian

PRESS CONTACTS

ARDIAN US
The Neibart Group
Emma Murphy
emurphy@neibartgroup.com
Tel +1 718 875 4545
Cell +1 347 968 6800
RES
Alicia Rivera

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KKR Forms Hospital Management Company SinoCare Group to Provide Quality Health Care Services to Patients in China

KKR

New Platform Makes First Investment in HeTian Hospital Management Co.

BEIJING–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sep. 25, 2018– Global investment firm KKR today announced the creation of SinoCare Group (“SinoCare” or the “Company”), a hospital investment and management platform company in China. SinoCare aims to provide high-quality health care services to patients in China through the acquisition, build-out and consolidation of hospitals.

SinoCare will work alongside KKR to bring top medical resources and management experience that aim to improve service capabilities and operational efficiencies to health care service providers within the SinoCare platform, as well as to address the high demand for quality medical services in China. The Company will build its platform through organic growth and acquisitions. Additionally, KKR’s support will enable partner hospitals and care centers to be on the leading edge of health care technology and global best practices.

In conjunction with the launch of SinoCare, KKR also announced that the Company has acquired a majority stake in leading Chinese hospital management company, HeTian Hospital Management Co. (“HeTian”). The investment will support HeTian’s continued development of new medical practice areas, its expansion plans and scope to service more patients. The partnership between HeTian and SinoCare aims to serve as a model for how Chinese health care providers can be substantially enhanced through the support of a leading international investor and increased access to global best practices and medical resources.

Established by Founder and Chairman Dr. Li Fangjun, HeTian is a leading comprehensive health care provider in China. HeTian operates two general hospitals in Anhui province – Lu’An Shili Hospital and WuHe Hospital – and Lu’An HeTian Nephrosis Specialty Hospital, an operator of three dialysis centers. The group manages a total of 1,300 beds, in addition to overseeing the construction of a new hospital with 500 beds planned to be completed by 2020.

SinoCare will support HeTian’s expansion and growth through acquisitions, with a focus in third- and fourth-tier cities where medical resources are scarce and quality health care services are lacking. This is consistent with the Chinese government’s encouragement of more medical resources being extended to lower-tier cities, where there is urgent need but currently limited supply and high costs for medical treatments. There are fewer than three hospital beds per 1,000 people in China’s fourth-tier and smaller cities, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

Paul Yang, Member and CEO of KKR Greater China, said, “This is a pivotal time for health care in China given the growing demand for quality medical services and treatments nationwide. We’ve seen first-hand some of the issues facing Chinese patients and are dedicated to supporting their needs through the launch of SinoCare and through the platform’s initial investment in HeTian. We are impressed with HeTian’s respected and experienced team of doctors led by Dr. Li, and believe that the company has a unique opportunity to build on its success to deliver excellent care to more Chinese patients.”

Dr. Li Fangjun, Founder and Chairman of HeTian, added, “As China faces a shortage of medical professionals and clinics, the role of private hospitals is becoming increasingly important. KKR has a long-standing reputation for bringing global best practices to its partners in the health care industry internationally, in addition to supporting Chinese entrepreneurs. We are excited to partner with SinoCare and KKR to grow our hospital group to meet the needs of patients in the Yangtze River Delta and beyond. This investment marks the beginning of an exciting and vital chapter in HeTian’s bright future.”

KKR’s investment in SinoCare is being funded from KKR Asian Fund III. Further terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About SinoCare Group

SinoCare Group (“SinoCare”) is a hospital investment and management platform company in China created and managed by leading global investment firm, KKR. The company aims to provide high quality and accessible health care services to patients in China through the acquisition, build-out and consolidation of hospitals and introduction of global best practices.

About HeTian Hospital Management

HeTian Hospital Management Co. (“HeTian”) is a professional hospital management company specialized in operating and investing in integrated health care service providers. HeTian currently operates seven award-winning hospitals and health care centers focused on underserved Chinese cities. The company’s vision is to improve access to quality health care services by building a network of primary medical care providers supported by modern health care management best practices.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate and credit, with strategic manager partnerships that manage hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns for its fund investors by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and driving growth and value creation with KKR portfolio companies. KKR invests its own capital alongside the capital it manages for fund investors and provides financing solutions and investment opportunities through its capital markets business. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE:KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

Source: KKR

For KKR:
KKR Asia
Cara Major, +852-3602-7335
Cara.Major@KKR.com
or
Sard Verbinnen & Co.
Rick Carew, +852-3842-2200
KKR-SVC@sardverb.com
or
KKR Americas
Kristi Huller, +1 212-750-8300
Media@KKR.com
or
For KKR China:
FTI Consulting
Dee Wang, +86 21-2315-1138
Dee.Wang@fticonsulting.com

 

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GP Bullhound invests in big data platform Stratio

Gp Bullhound

GP Bullhound announces its investment in Stratio, a third generation big data platform, in a EUR13M Series B round led by Adara Ventures. The funds raised will go toward the continued evolution of the Stratio Big Data product suite while accelerating the growth of their software subscription business internationally.
Stratio CEO, Oscar Mendez, said: “Stratio’s growth in recent years has been on an exciting trajectory. We are delighted to continue to work with Adara Ventures and have built a fruitful relationship with GP Bullhound for the past few years. We look forward to working together with them on our international expansion and growth strategy.”

Joakim Dal, Partner at GP Bullhound, commented: “Stratio makes next generation technologies usable for IT heavy enterprises at a fraction of the cost of doing it themselves. We see significant opportunities for growth ahead for Stratio.”

Enquiries
For enquiries, please contact Joakim Dal, Partner at GP Bullhound, at joakim.dal@gpbullhound.com

About Stratio
Stratio is a leading Big Data and Artificial Intelligence software company, helping customers with their Digital Transformation by placing their data in the centre of their operations. From data intelligence to corporate culture, Stratio’s goal is to help the biggest sectors face the myriad of challenges and seize the opportunities that the digital revolution offers. The company has offices in Silicon Valley, Madrid, Sao Paolo, Bogota, and Vancouver. For more information please visit www.stratio.com

About GP Bullhound
GP Bullhound is a leading technology advisory and investment firm, providing transaction advice and capital to the best entrepreneurs and founders. Founded in 1999, the firm today has offices in London, San Francisco, Stockholm, Berlin, Manchester, Paris, Hong Kong, Madrid and New York. For more information, please visit www.gpbullhound.com, or follow on Twitter @GPBullhound.

 

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Funds advised by Apax Partners acquire Authority Brands

New York and Columbia, Maryland, 24 September 2018:Funds advised by Apax Partners (the “Apax Funds”) today announced the acquisition of Authority Brands, a leading North American franchisor of home services, from PNC Riverarch Capital. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, Authority Brands is the parent company of two home services franchisors: The Cleaning Authority, which provides residential cleaning services to over 100,000 customers across the U.S.; and Homewatch CareGivers, which delivers at-home services including elderly, disabled and after-surgery care, as well as help for those living with dementia. Authority Brands operates over 300 franchises in the U.S., Canada and Latin America, supporting them to grow through the provision of marketing, technology and operational support.

The acquisition by the Apax Funds will help the company accelerate its growth, both organically and through strategic acquisitions, as it looks to expand internationally and offer additional services. It also presents digitization opportunities as Apax intends to leverage its significant experience in this area to help Authority Brands provide enhanced software, digital marketing and systems to support its franchise partners. Under the terms of the acquisition, Authority Brands’ management team, led by Chief Executive Officer Rob Weddle, will remain in place.

Rob Weddle, CEO of Authority Brands, said: “We are very excited about the experience and depth the Apax team brings to this new partnership. Authority Brands has a vision to become the leading franchisor of home services by providing unparalleled business ownership opportunity to its franchisees and delivering first-class service to consumers. We are confident Apax shares in this vision and expect a bright future for Authority Brands.”

Ashish Karandikar, Partner at Apax Partners, said: “We have been attracted to the home services market for some time, due to its size, fragmentation and attractive growth rate. We have been impressed by Authority Brands’ established franchise network, experienced management, and strong track record of growth.

“We look forward to working with management and all franchise partners to accelerate growth, both organically and through M&A, as well as to leverage Apax’s significant experience in international expansion and digitization.”

About Authority Brands
Headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, Authority Brands, LLC is the parent company of two leading home service franchisors, The Cleaning Authority and Homewatch CareGivers. Together, these brands provide recurring home services through more than 300 franchise locations in the U.S., Canada and Latin America. Authority Brands is dedicated to supporting individual franchisee growth through providing strong marketing, technology and operational support.

About Apax Partners
Apax Partners is a leading global private equity advisory firm. Over its more than 35-year history, Apax Partners has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of over $50 billion. The Apax Funds invest in companies across four global sectors of Tech & Telco, Services, Healthcare and Consumer. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. For more information see: www.apax.com.

Media Contacts:  

For Authority Brands

Nikki Rode, Fish Consulting | +1 954-893-9150 | nrode@fish-consulting.com

For Apax Partners

Global Media: Andrew Kenny, Apax | +44 20 7 872 6371 | andrew.kenny@apax.com

USA Media: Todd Fogarty, Kekst | +1 212-521 4854 | todd.fogarty@kekst.com

UK Media: Matthew Goodman / James Madsen, Greenbrook | +44 20 7952 2000 | apax@greenbrookpr.com

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DIF consortium selected as preferred bidder for Belgian Liege tram PPP

DIF

Schiphol, 24 September 2018 – DIF is pleased to announce that the Tram’Ardent consortium has been announced preferred bidder for the availability based public-private partnership contract, involving the design, financing, construction and maintenance of the first tramway line in Liège, Belgium. The consortium consists of DIF Infrastructure V, together with its partners Colas Projects, Colas Belgium, Colas Rail Belgium and Spanish rolling stock manufacturer Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF). The authority partner is the Walloon Transport Operator.

With a total length of 11.7 km, 90% of which is in a reserved lane section, Liège’s first tramway line will serve 21 stations, connecting the Sclessin multimodal station, in the southwest of Liège, to the city of Herstal, in the northeast, via the high-speed train station and Saint Lambert Square.

The consortium is responsible for the design, financing, construction and maintenance of the tramway. The consortium will be in charge of the design and build of the electrified rail network, the creation of a maintenance and storage centre, and the development of 240,000 m² of surrounding urban space. CAF will, in particular, supply the rolling stock as part of the consortium. Closing is expected before the end of the year and construction is to be completed by the second half of 2022.

The consortium is advised by Natixis (financial) and DLA piper (legal).

About DIF

DIF is an independent infrastructure fund manager, with €5.6 billion of assets under management across seven closed-end infrastructure funds and several co-investment vehicles. DIF invests in greenfield and brownfield infrastructure assets located primarily in Europe, North America and Australasia through two complementary strategies:

  • DIF Infrastructure V targets equity investments in public-private partnerships (PPP/PFI/P3), concessions, regulated assets and renewable energy projects with long-term contracted or regulated income streams that generate stable and predictable cash flows;
  • DIF Core Infrastructure Fund I targets equity investments in small to mid-sized infrastructure assets in the energy, transportation and telecom sectors with mid-term contracted income streams that generate stable and predictable cash flows.

DIF has over 100 professionals in eight offices, located in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Paris, Sydney and Toronto. Please see www.dif.eu or further information on DIF.

For further information, please contact:

Paul Nash
Partner, Head of PPP/Infrastructure
Email: p.nash@dif.eu

Allard Ruijs
Partner, Head of Investor Relations and Business Development
Email: a.ruijs@dif.eu

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Altamir to invest via the Apax France IX fund in the Italian company AEB Group

Altamir

AEB Group, a worldwide leader in biotechnological ingredients for wine, food and beverage.

Paris, 21 September 2018 – As announced in our press release dated 5 September, a new transaction has been signed by Apax Partners SAS: the acquisition from SK Capital of 100% of the Italian company AEB Group, a worldwide leader in biotechnological ingredients and related services for wine, food and beverage. The company’s management will reinvest alongside Apax Funds.

Leveraging their expertise in biotechnology and oenology, AEB Group offers custom solutions based on more than 600 proprietary products and specialty equipment, especially designed for the wine, beer, juice, cider and food industry.

With a unique coverage across 5 continents, AEB Group employs more than 300 persons, including 170 agents and sales representatives in 13 countries. The company has 8 production units, 4 R&D laboratories and 7 quality control laboratories globally and collaborates with more than 20 universities and research institutes to foster continuous innovation. In 2017, the company generated revenues of nearly €100 million.

The company’s objective is to pursue its international expansion by leveraging the existing worldwide sales and agents network and to conduct an ambitious buy and build strategy.

Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed. Closing of the transaction is expected in the beginning of October.

Altamir’s investment is expected to be in the region of €35m based on the upper limit of its commitment in the Apax France IX fund.

About Altamir

Altamir is a listed private equity company (Euronext Paris-B, ticker: LTA) founded in 1995 and with almost €800m in assets under management. Its objective is to provide shareholders with long term capital appreciation and regular dividends by investing in a diversified portfolio of private equity investments.

Altamir’s investment policy is to invest via and with the funds managed by Apax Partners SAS and Apax Partners LLP, two leading private equity firms that take majority or lead positions in buyouts and growth capital transactions and seek ambitious value creation objectives.

In this way, Altamir provides access to a diversified portfolio of fast-growing companies across Apax’s sectors of specialisation (TMT, Consumer, Healthcare, Services) and in complementary market segments (mid-sized companies in French-speaking European countries and larger companies across Europe, North America and key emerging markets).

Altamir derives certain tax benefits from its status as an SCR (“Société de Capital Risque”). As such, Altamir is exempt from corporate tax and the company’s investors may benefit from tax exemptions, subject to specific holding-period and dividend-reinvestment conditions.

For more information: www.altamir.fr

Contact

Agathe Heinrich

Tel: +33 1 53 65 01 74

E-mail: investors@altamir.fr

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Investment facilitates innovation furthering MariaDB as the leading enterprise open source database

Tesi

INVESTMENTS IN COMPANIES – 20.9.2018

MENLO PARK, Calif. and HELSINKI – September 20, 2018 – MariaDB® Corporation today announced that Pat Casey, SVP of Development and Operations at ServiceNow®, is joining its board of directors and ServiceNow Ventures is participating in MariaDB’s Series C funding round. Pat Casey joins executives from Intel and Alibaba who collectively bring a wide range of deep cloud experience to the enterprise open source database company. MariaDB products are used in ServiceNow’s cloud-based platform, running workflows for the world’s largest companies. To operate at scale, ServiceNow’s platform runs on up to 85,000 MariaDB databases that serve more than 25 billion queries per hour.

“MariaDB is an essential building block of ServiceNow’s cloud infrastructure,” said Michael Howard, CEO, MariaDB Corporation. “ServiceNow architected its platform from the ground up to deliver an exceptional customer experience and leverage open source to enable innovation. With Pat Casey on our board, we gain the guidance of a seasoned executive and the continued partnership of an innovator and cloud leader to ensure the success with our own MariaDB cloud solutions.”

“We are actively investing to make the Now Platform the most innovative for our customers to get work done,” said Pat Casey, SVP of Development and Operations, ServiceNow. “We are investing in MariaDB to lend our expertise in cloud automation and enable some of the world’s largest companies at scale. By collaborating on new features with MariaDB, we are changing database technology for the better.”

In addition to Pat Casey joining the board, ServiceNow is a collaborative development partner with MariaDB and recently worked to deliver real-time data definition language (DDL), available with MariaDB TX 3.0. The two companies are continuing to work on several database solutions including a distributed database strategy to address the needs of their largest customers.

Last year, MariaDB raised $54 million in funding from the European Investment Bank and an initial Series C funding round led by Alibaba, bringing the total raised to $98 million. MariaDB can be deployed on premises with commodity hardware, across any public, private or hybrid cloud topology and is available in any of the world’s major cloud providers. With MariaDB, users get the perfect database every time thanks to its purpose-built storage engines that simultaneously support multiple workloads with different characteristics – transactional, analytical, write-intensive or extreme scale.

MariaDB Acquires Clustrix Adding Distributed Database Technology

Clustrix technology will allow MariaDB to scale beyond traditional distributed solutions such as Oracle RAC to levels only achieved with NoSQL, without compromising core enterprise features. The acquisition helps advance the MariaDB Labs mission to tackle the most extreme challenges in the database field, specifically around distributed computing, machine learning, and next-generation chips, memory and storage environments.

“Today, the choices for a scale-out database option are limited – go with a traditional solution like Oracle with high cost and bloat or choose a NoSQL solution that has limited capabilities for data integrity,” said Michael Howard. “With Clustrix, MariaDB can provide a better solution for our customers that have challenging scale-out enterprise environments. Our distributed solution will satisfy the most extreme requirements of our largest customers and gives them the freedom to break from Oracle’s lock-in.”

Additional Resources
Watch ServiceNow’s keynote at M|18

Watch MariaDB’s CEO discuss MariaDB Labs at its annual user conference

Visit mariadb.com

Follow @mariadb on Twitter

Read MariaDB’s blog

MariaDB frees companies from the costs, constraints and complexity of proprietary databases, enabling them to reinvest in what matters most – rapidly developing innovative, customer-facing applications. MariaDB uses pluggable, purpose-built storage engines to support workloads that previously required a variety of specialized databases. With complexity and constraints eliminated, enterprises can now depend on a single complete database for all their needs, whether on commodity hardware or their cloud of choice. Deployed in minutes for transactional or analytical use cases, MariaDB delivers unmatched operational agility without sacrificing key enterprise features including real ACID compliance and full SQL. Trusted by organizations such as Deutsche Bank, DBS Bank, Nasdaq, Red Hat, The Home Depot, ServiceNow and Verizon – MariaDB meets the same core requirements as proprietary databases at a fraction of the cost. No wonder it’s the fastest growing open source database. Real business relies on MariaDB™.

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 €1.2 billion and we have altogether 700 companies in portfolio. www.tesi.fi/ @TesiFII / www.dtg.tesi.fi

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ONCAP Acquires Walter Surface Technologies

Onex

Toronto, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec September 20, 2018

– ONCAP today announced it has purchased a majority stake in Walter Surface Technologies (“Walter” or the “Company”), in partnership with the existing management team. The Walter Group will retain a minority interest in the Company.

Walter is a leading provider of innovative solutions for the metal working industry. Its premium, consumable metal working solutions include abrasives, tooling, power tools, chemical solutions and welding process solutions. The Company sells its portfolio of products to a diverse array of end markets, including metal fabrication, transportation, construction, energy, mining, forestry and lumber, food and pharmaceuticals. Walter was founded in 1952 by Walter Somers and, over the past 30 years, his son Pierre Somers led the Company and expanded it internationally.
“Walter is committed to creating the best performing products and offering innovative, safe, user-friendly and environmentally conscious solutions to its customers,” said Gregory Baylin, a Managing Director with ONCAP. “The Company’s dedication to excellence and strong workforce are what attracted us to the business. We’re thrilled to partner with the management team and the founding family to build upon the entrepreneurial spirit and vision Walter and Pierre Somers created.”

“ONCAP’s Canadian roots and outstanding investment track record make it an ideal partner for us,” said Marc-André Aubé, the newly-appointed Chief Executive Officer of Walter. “Together, we’ll continue to focus on providing the best solutions to our customers to improve their productivity and make their jobs easier and safer. ONCAP’s support will help us grow both organically and through strategic add-on acquisitions.”
“This transaction is the logical step to take Walter to new and exciting heights. The Company is in great hands with Marc-André and the management team we’ve worked hard to build,” said Pierre Somers, the retiring Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Walter and the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Walter Group. “We’re excited to remain a minority shareholder and watch the Company’s growth during this next chapter. The Walter Group will now turn its focus to expanding our investing activities.”
The investment was made by ONCAP IV, Onex Corporation’s (TSX:ONEX) $1.1 billion fund. The terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

About ONCAP
ONCAP is the mid-market private equity platform of Onex. In partnership with operating
company management teams, ONCAP invests in and builds value in North American
headquartered medium-sized businesses that are market leaders and possess meaningful growth
potential. For more information on ONCAP, visit its website at www.oncap.com.
Onex is one of the oldest and most successful private equity firms. Through its Onex Partners
and ONCAP private equity funds, Onex acquires and builds high-quality businesses in
partnership with talented management teams. At Onex Credit, Onex manages and invests in
leveraged loans, collateralized loan obligations and other credit securities. Onex has more than
$33 billion of assets under management, including $6.8 billion of Onex proprietary capital, in
private equity and credit securities. With offices in Toronto, New York, New Jersey and
London, Onex and the team are collectively the largest investors across Onex’ platforms. Onex
shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the stock symbol ONEX. For more
information on Onex, visit its website at www.onex.com.

About Walter Surface Technologies
Walter Surface Technologies provides innovative solutions for the global metal working
industry. From high performance abrasives, power tools and tooling to industrial parts washing
systems, cleaners, degreasers and lubricants Walter focuses on helping its customers work better.
Founded in 1952, the Company is established in 7 countries throughout North America, South
America and Europe. International headquarters is in Montreal and U.S. headquarters is located
in Windsor, Connecticut. Key certification and awards include ISO 9001: 2008, Wall Street
Journal Award; Deutscher Material Preiz; American Eagle Award; CleanTech Cleaning
Technology Award. For more information, please visit www.walter.com.

About Walter Group
For more than 60 years, the Walter Group of Companies has been guided by a strong
entrepreneurial spirit that has been passed down from one generation to the next. Leveraging its
unique position, the Group has evolved into a flourishing ecosystem of companies driven by
entrepreneurship and innovation. Over the years, the Walter Group has been investing and
supporting growth through Walter Financial, a private investment firm targeting both private and
public markets, with permanent capital base and long-term investment horizon. Among its
strategies, Walter Financial has allocated over C$240 million to its two dedicated internal private
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more information, please visit www.waltergroup.ca.

For further information:
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Emilie Blouin
Director, Investor Relations
Tel: +1.416.362.7711
Walter Surface Technologies
Stephanie Boucher
Marketing Communications Manager
E: SBoucher@walter.com
Walter Group
Carl Vallée
HATLEY Strategy Advisors
Tel: +1.514.316.7089
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CVC Capital Partners announces majority interest investment in UnitedLex

Senior team has fully reinvested to further company’s mission to drive innovation in the legal marketplace

CVC Capital Partners (“CVC”) today announced that funds managed by CVC will make a majority interest investment in UnitedLex, the pioneer of enterprise legal services for the world’s leading corporations, law firms, and universities. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals. The UnitedLex senior leadership team has fully reinvested in the transaction to further the company’s mission to lead the revolution of the practice of law and legal services delivery and to drive innovation in the legal marketplace.

The investment represents one of the largest transactions to date with any legal services provider. It comes on the heels of UnitedLex closing deals worth $1.5 billion in total contract value over the last 18 months.

Founded in 2006, UnitedLex provides enterprise legal services to its clients, which include more than 25% of the Global Fortune 500, across 18 countries. UnitedLex’s year-over-year growth has been purely organic, enabling a singularity of culture focused on delivering significant client value and providing its professionals a unique home to extend the current boundaries of client solutions through the “art of the possible.” The company has created a one of a kind legal services platform: a consulting, technology, and resource solutions company; an international law firm constellation; and a law firm resource platform – all focused on the areas of contracts and commercial transactions, litigation, intellectual property, consulting, and compliance.

Daniel Reed, CEO of UnitedLex, said, “I am very pleased to welcome CVC as our partner in what marks an important milestone in UnitedLex’s evolution. As Europe’s largest private equity firm with current and past portfolio companies such as Breitling, AlixPartners, and Formula 1, CVC has the geographic reach, sector expertise, scale, and significant capital that will undoubtedly help us expand our technology development and provide clients with unique financial structuring as part of our industry-changing solutions.”

Siddharth Patel, Senior Managing Director at CVC, commented, “UnitedLex has a multi-billion-dollar opportunity ahead of it, with legal services being one the few remaining verticals that is early in the penetration curve of technology, consulting, and solution delivery. UnitedLex continues to innovate with game-changing engagements with the world’s leading companies. Now is the perfect time for us to provide significant capital to enhance its growth and scale, the beginnings of which we’ve already seen in its impressive financial performance, customer wins, and pipeline of opportunities.”

Amit Soni, Managing Director at CVC, added, “We are excited to partner with UnitedLex and its excellent management team and to provide necessary capital to pursue both strategic acquisitions in a consolidating space, as well as transformational client wins. We have known the company for many years and have been impressed by its consistent track record of growth and ability to design and deliver unique solutions in the enterprise legal space.”

 

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