Monthly Archives: January 2019

NetCo reaches a final agreement with IK Investment Partners

ik-investment-partners

IK Investment Partners (”IK”), a leading Pan-European private equity firm, is pleased to announce the signing of a sale and purchase agreement with the Groupe NetCo (”NetCo”), a specialist of preventive and curative maintenance of belt and roller conveyors. NetCo will be the fifth acquisition in IK’s Small Cap II Fund, which targets growing businesses within the Benelux, DACH, France, and the Nordics.  Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Founded in 1902 in France, NetCo has grown to become a European specialist in conveyor systems across key industries including quarries, food and heavy goods.

Through its three business units; NetCo Services, NetCo Distribution, NetCo Systems, NetCo holds a leading position on the maintenance of conveyor markets for both services and distribution, and has become a strategic partner for customers by supporting critical parts of their industrial processes. NetCo is headquartered in Bordeaux and operates 55 agencies with 500 employees across France. The business has a further presence across Belgium  and Luxembourg, and a foothold in North Africa (Morocco), the Middle East (Bahrain) and South East Asia (Indonesia).

To meet ever-growing European demand of outsourced maintenance services and initiate their international expansion, NetCo managers (Samuel and James Perriez) partnered with WINCH Capital 3, a fund managed by Andera Partners, through a primary growth capital transaction at the end of 2016. NetCo adopted a strong acquisitive strategy, most recently acquiring ABM TECNA, a Belgium conveyor system specialist in 2017. The company has completed 32 transactions since 2000, 14 of which in the past three years. This partnership enabled the group to double its size within two years.

Pierre Gallix, Partner at IK, said:

“We are delighted to partner with NetCo, business with a diverse and competitive product offering and a phenomenal legacy which spans more than a century. We are especially impressed with the company’s track record of integrating bolt-on businesses and the breadth of its longstanding management team. We look forward to working with them to help NetCo become the number one player in the European conveyor belt service market.”

Arnaud Bosc, Partner at IK, added:

“NetCo’s multi-brand offering and high-quality solutions have contributed to the company’s outstanding reputation across multiple industries. We are delighted to work with NetCo and look forward to supporting the business as it continues to expand its global presence.”

Samuel Perriez, President of NetCo commented:

“Thanks to the support of Andera Partners, the company has been able to achieve remarkable growth in France and in Belgium over the last three years. IK’s support of NetCo paves the way for new international ambitions”

James Perriez, CEO of NetCo added:

“We are excited to be partnering with IK as we enter the next stage of our growth strategy. IK’s track record of investing in industrials paired with their strong European roots make them the perfect partner to help our business expand its presence while staying true to our local roots.”

François-Xavier Mauron and Antoine Le Bourgeois, Partners at Andera Partners, concluded:

“The change of scale of NetCo from a leading French player to a pan-European champion over only two years illustrates perfectly the DNA of the WINCH Capital team as a hands-on investor and partner to management. We are excited to welcome IK and further accompany Samuel and James Perriez for the next cycle of growth of NetCo.”

The closing of the transaction is conditioned to the approval by the French Antitrust authorities.

For further questions, please contact:

IK Investment Partners
Pierre Gallix, Partner
Phone: +33 1 44 43 06 60

Arnaud Bosc, Partner
Phone: +33 1 44 43 06 60

Mikaela Murekian
Director Communications & ESG
Phone: +44 77 87 573 566
mikaela.murekian@ikinvest.com

Andera Partners

Nicolas Delsert
Director Communication
Phone: +33 1 85 73 52 88

About IK Investment Partners
IK Investment Partners (“IK”) is a Pan-European private equity firm focused on investments in the Nordics, DACH region, France, and Benelux. Since 1989, IK has raised more than €9.5 billion of capital and invested in over 120 European companies. IK funds support companies with strong underlying potential, partnering with management teams and investors to create robust, well-positioned businesses with excellent long-term prospects. For more information, visit www.ikinvest.com

About Andera Partners
Created in 2001 as part of the Edmond de Rothschild Group and wholly owned by its employees since March 2018, Andera Partners is a leading investor in private companies in France and internationally. It manages €2.3 billion in investments in life sciences (BioDiscovery), growth capital and buyout capital (Winch Capital in mid-cap and Cabestan Capital in small-cap) and sponsorless mezzanine debt (ActoMezz). www.anderapartners.com

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DIF acquires Warradarge Wind Farm in Australia

DIF

Sydney, 29 January 2019 – DIF is pleased to announce the acquisition of the 180MW Warradarge Wind Farm, the third and largest asset to be acquired by the renewable energy investment vehicle ‘Bright Energy Investments’ which is a joint venture between DIF Infrastructure V, CBUS and Synergy.

The Warradarge Wind Farm is a greenfield project located near Eneabba in Western Australia and is recognised as one of the best renewable energy projects in Australia due to its location and abundant wind resource. The total output will have a circa 50% capacity factor, the equivalent to the average annual electricity needs of 135,000 Western Australian homes.

Vestas has been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction contract as well as the operations and maintenance contract with a yield-based availability guarantee. Construction is expected to commence in early 2019, creating up to 200 local jobs and first power is expected to be generated in 2020. Its 51 turbines will be among the largest in Western Australia with a tip height of 152 metres, sporting some of the longest blades onshore at 66 metres. Synergy, an electricity generator and retailer that is owned by the Western Australian Government, will purchase all electricity and renewable certificates from the project, assisting Synergy and Western Australia to meet its 2020 Large-scale Renewable Energy Target obligations.

This investment fits neatly within DIF’s mandate to acquire infrastructure and renewable energy assets that will deliver long-term stable cash flows for the fund and add to DIF’s existing portfolio of Australian renewable energy assets.

Marko Kremer, DIF’s Head of Australasia added: “DIF is delighted that it played a leading role in this significant project for Western Australia and excited to make a large contribution to the growing Australian renewable energy market, which supports the nation’s commitment to a greener economy, as well as creating job opportunities in Western Australia.”

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 a team of over 110 professionals, based in eight offices located in Schiphol (the Netherlands), Frankfurt, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Paris, Sydney and Toronto. Please visit www.dif.eu for further information.

Contact:
Allard Ruijs, Partner
Email: a.ruijs@dif.eu

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EURAZEO growth reinvests in CONTENTSQUARE to accelerate its development

Eurazeo

Paris, January 24, 2019 – Eurazeo has announced the sale to AXA of its 22% stake in Capzanine,
an independent European management company specializing in private investment.
Since entering Capzanine’s share capital in October 2015, Eurazeo and AXA have helped Capzanine
accelerate its growth in the debt and equity sectors and develop international partnerships.
During this period, Capzanine has significantly expanded its business, increasing assets under
management from €1.1 billion to €2.5 billion.

This transaction is accompanied by the assumption by AXA and other investors of all Eurazeo
commitments in funds managed by Capzanine, excluding an €8 million commitment in Capzanine
Situations Spéciales.

The transaction amount is approximately €82 million. This includes shares in the management
company on which Eurazeo realizes a multiple of just over 3x the initial investment and fund shares
recently subscribed by Eurazeo.
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About Eurazeo
Eurazeo is a leading global investment company, with a diversified portfolio of €17 billion in assets under management, including nearly €11 billion from third parties, invested in over 300 companies. With its considerable private equity, venture capital, real estate, private debt and fund of funds expertise, Eurazeo accompanies companies of all sizes, supporting their development through the commitment of its 225 professionals and by offering deep sector expertise, a gateway to global markets, and a responsible and stable foothold for transformational growth. Its solid institutional and family shareholder base, robust financial structure free of structural debt, and flexible investment horizon enable Eurazeo to support its companies over the long term. Eurazeo has offices in Paris, New York, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Shanghai, London, Luxembourg and Madrid.

o Eurazeo is listed on Euronext Paris.
o ISIN: FR0000121121 – Bloomberg: RF FP – Reuters: EURA.PA

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The Carlyle Group acquires majority stake in SER Group, a European ECM software provider

Carlyle

  • Carlyle‘s capital, expertise and network will support long-term growth
  • Selling shareholders to retain a significant minority stake

Bonn, January 28, 2019 – Global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) today announced it has acquired a majority stake in SERgroup GmbH (SER), a European Enterprise Content Management solutions (ECM) software company based in Bonn, Germany. Underlining their commitment to continuity, the selling shareholders will retain a significant minority stake in SER. Further details were not disclosed. The transaction has been approved by the relevant antitrust authorities.

Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Bonn, Germany, SER is committed to innovation, highly customizable and scalable solutions, and excellent client service. SER began as a provider of electronic archiving and has grown into a supplier of state-of-the-art ECM solutions to companies throughout Europe. Carlyle’s investment will support SER’s management team as it implements its growth plans.

Dr. Thorsten Dippel, Managing Director at Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (CETP), said: “We look forward to working with the SER management team, which has emphasized a culture of customer focus and innovation. With significant knowledge of the software sector, Carlyle’s Europe Technology Partners team will use its experience alongside Carlyle‘s global network to further drive SER‘s growth.“

Michael Wand, Managing Director and Co-Head of CETP, said: “SER is a great fit for CETP, given the experience and expertise of the team in mid-market software. Carlyle will seek to support SER with succession planning, select internationalization and product innovation.“

Kurt-Werner Sikora, spokesman for SER‘s management board, said: “Carlyle will be an excellent partner for the continued development of SER, and the new management appointments represent the next step in our succession planning. Carlyle’s success in the software sector means the team will bring relevant expertise to the company.“

Equity for the investment comes from CETP III, a €657 million pan-European growth fund focused on technology companies, launched in 2015. The CETP team has extensive experience in the management of technology companies, both globally, as well as in German-speaking countries.

Previous investments by CETP funds include: P&I Personal & Informatik AG, a provider of integrated HR software solutions; Exocad, a developer of CAD/CAM software for the dental industry; vwd, a provider of market data and innovative applications for banks and investment advisors; kcs.net, one of the largest independent Microsoft Dynamics partners in the DACH market; and UC4, a software provider in the area of data center and process automation.

Since 2002, Carlyle‘s European technology funds have invested €1.4 billion in small and medium-sized businesses and supported their growth plans.

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Contacts:

The Carlyle Group
Catherine Armstrong
Tel: +44 (0) 207 894 1632
Email: catherine.armstrong@carlyle.com

Katharina Gebsattel –Kommunikationsberatung
Tel: +49 172 718 68 57
Email: katharina.gebsattel@vub.de

SER Group
Bärbel Heuser-Roth
Tel: +49 228 90896-220
Email: baerbel.heuser-roth@ser.de

The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global alternative asset manager with $212 billion of assets under management across 339 investment vehicles as of September 30, 2018. Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, many of whom are public pensions. Carlyle invests across four segments – Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Credit and Investment Solutions – in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America. Carlyle has expertise in various industries, including: aerospace, defense & government services, consumer & retail, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial, real estate, technology & business services, telecommunications & media and transportation. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,625 people in 31 offices across six continents.
Web: www.carlyle.com
Videos: www.youtube.com/onecarlyle
Tweets: www.twitter.com/onecarlyle
Podcasts: www.carlyle.com/about-carlyle/market-commentary

SERgroup

SER is the largest European ECM provider in terms of turnover, gross profit, operating result and number of employees measured by recent results. This makes SER one of the top 5 “software-only” ECM providers worldwide. ECM excellence by SER – means vision, inspiration, experience and expertise of a team of over 550 employees. More than 2,000 reference clients and 1 million users daily work with Enterprise Content Management from SER. For almost 35 years, SER has been supporting medium-sized companies, corporations, administrations and organizations across all industries with powerful ECM software and professional services from a single source. Leading international IT analysts confirm that Doxis4 is amongst the leading ECM applications in terms of both technology and applications globally. With its homogenous platform for ECM and BPM (Business Process Management), Doxis4 seamlessly combines content and processes, linking people with information, synchronizing business processes and linking knowledge-based collaboration between companies, their suppliers and customers.

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Maincare acquisition of Anticyclone

Montagu

Maincare solutions announces the acquisition of Anticyclone, a leading French provider of speech recognition and document management software for hospitals.

Anticyclone was founded in 2004 and has experienced rapid growth on the back of i) its joint offer which combines best-of-breed speech recognition and document management and ii) strong demand for software optimising workflow management in public hospitals.  It now serves ~100 healthcare institutions and has a total user-base of 22,000 medical professionals.

Maincare and Anticyclone have been partners since 2009.  The acquisition will enable Maincare to embed a best-of-breed solution in its new software platform and drive commercial synergies across the business.  Anticyclone will become a new business unit within the Group.

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The Carlyle Group Invests in Leading Brazilian Restaurant Chain, Grupo Madero

Carlyle

Significant minority investment in partnership with founder and CEO Junior Durski will support new restaurant growth and continued investment in the company’s operations

New York, NY and São Paulo, BR – Global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) today announced that it has agreed to make a significant minority investment in Grupo Madero (“Madero”), the largest casual dining and fast-casual restaurant chain in Brazil.  Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2005, Madero operates 140 restaurants primarily across three restaurant brands: Madero Steakhouse, Madero Container and Jeronimo. Madero Steakhouse is a casual dining concept with table service and an expansive menu headlined by “the best burger in the world,” while Madero Container and Jeronimo are fast-casual concepts with high-quality, hamburger-focused menus. Madero is able to maximize quality, service and efficiency by leveraging its technology-enabled platform and vertically-integrated business model, the foundation of which is its state-of-the-art central kitchen in Ponta Grossa.

“We are thrilled to partner with Carlyle – a firm which combines experience investing in restaurants around the world with a deep understanding of the Brazilian retail market, which will be a valuable resource as we execute on our growth strategy,” said Junior Durski, Madero’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer.  “Carlyle understands our vision for Madero and values our unique culture and dedication to our customers, employees, and local communities.  We have set ambitious goals, and we are excited that Carlyle will be our partner for the next stage of our journey.”

Jay Sammons, Managing Director and Carlyle’s Global Head of Consumer & Retail, said, “Madero has built a differentiated brand and business model, utilizing consumer-oriented technology and leveraging the company’s best-in-class operations to serve great food to millions of satisfied customers across Brazil. We are excited to apply our significant restaurant and consumer expertise to support Junior and Madero’s leadership team as they execute on the company’s plans for future growth.”

Fernando Borges, Managing Director and Head of Carlyle’s South America Buyout Group, said, “Junior and his team have done an exceptional job building Madero into one of the pre-eminent restaurant brands in Brazil.  We are fully aligned on the growth plan that Junior and the management team are pursuing, and we are enthusiastic about the opportunities ahead.”

Equity from this transaction will come from Carlyle Partners VII, an $18.5 billion fund that makes strategic majority and minority investments across five industries.  Carlyle has extensive experience investing in the restaurant space and in Brazil, including past investments in Dunkin’ Brands (franchisor of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins), Chimney (pub-style restaurant chain in Japan), Alamar Foods (franchisee of Wendy’s and Domino’s Pizza restaurants in the Middle East), Gastronomía & Negocios S.A. (largest franchisor of quick service restaurants in Chile), Babela Group (Italian dining restaurant chain in China), CVC Brasil Operadora e Agência de Viagens S.A. (tour operator in Brazil), Tok&Stok (one of the largest design, furniture and decoration retailers in Brazil), Ri Happy (one of the largest specialty retailers of toys in Brazil) and Rede D’Or (largest hospital network in Brazil), among others.  Carlyle has invested more than $2.5 billion in Brazilian-based companies over the past 10 years, and the investment in Madero reflects the firm’s long-term commitment to supporting companies in the region.

The transaction remains subject to anti-trust review.

Pinheiro Neto and Debevoise & Plimpton served as counsel to Carlyle, and Santander served as financial advisor to Carlyle. Grupo Madero was advised by Machado Meyer Advogados.

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About Grupo Madero

Madero, the leading casual and fast-casual dining restaurant chain in Brazil, was founded in 2005 by Junior Durski, a self-taught chef who opened his first restaurant in 1999. The company operates 140 restaurants under three principal banners: Madero Steakhouse, Madero Container and Jeronimo. Madero Steakhouse is the company’s original casual dining format developed in 2005 and is one of the largest casual dining banners in Brazil.  Madero Container is a fast-casual format developed in 2014, which offers a burger-focused subset of Madero Steakhouse’s menu. Jeronimo is the company’s newest fast-casual concept which was launched in 2017 and offers a high-quality, burger-focused menu.  Madero’s vertically-integrated business model, which includes a state-of-the-art central kitchen and full logistics capabilities, including an owned fleet of temperature-controlled trucks, enables the company to focus on providing high-quality food at affordable prices across every major region in Brazil. The company employs approximately 6,000 people.

About The Carlyle Group

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global alternative asset manager with $212 billion of assets under management across 339 investment vehicles as of September 30, 2018. Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, many of whom are public pensions. Carlyle invests across four segments – Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Credit and Investment Solutions – in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America. Carlyle has expertise in various industries, including: aerospace, defense & government services, consumer & retail, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial, real estate, technology & business services, telecommunications & media and transportation. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,625 people in 31 offices across six continents.

Media Contacts

The Carlyle Group:

Devin Broda
Sard Verbinnen & Co.
+1 (212) 687-8080
Carlyle-SVC@sardverb.com

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Drillinginfo Acquires MineralSoft to Expand Focus on Managing Mineral and Non-operated Interests

Targets $1 trillion asset class with differentiated technology solution

Austin, Texas (January 15, 2019) – Drillinginfo, the leading energy SaaS and data analytics company, announced today it has acquired MineralSoft, a software platform designed to make managing mineral, royalty, and non-operated working interests easier and more profitable.

Collaboration between Drillinginfo and MineralSoft began in 2017 when the two companies announced a strategic alliance focused on understanding the value of mineral and non-operated assets by providing portfolio insights and analytics in real time. MineralSoft leverages Drillinginfo data and is best known for its comprehensive, user-friendly platform designed to combine critical data sets for managing mineral and non-operated portfolios, including revenue and expense data; production and regulatory data; and a full land and document management system.

Drillinginfo analysts believe oil and gas mineral interests in the U.S. generate more than $50 billion per year in income for nearly 12 million owners. Unfortunately, tools to access, monitor, and effectively manage these interests are severely limited, with owners often suffering from limited information to value their assets. Mineral interests are one of the most valuable, yet least liquid, asset classes in energy today.

“When it comes to minerals, there are thousands of operators, varying lease terms and fee structures, countless payments being made and audits to perform. Managing mineral interests in thousands of wells is far too complex to be handled on a spreadsheet or using an accounting system alone,” said Jeff Hughes, CEO and President of Drillinginfo. “Mineral interest owners want to know if they are being paid correctly, how commodity price changes will affect them, and how their interests stack up compared to their neighbors or competitors,” said Hughes.

“Traditionally, E&P-centric software tools had been repurposed toward mineral and non-operated asset management to address activity tracking, audit, and portfolio intelligence. The resulting solutions simply were not a good fit, and MineralSoft seized the opportunity to build a category-defining company focused solely on this asset class. What previously was a cottage industry of mineral buyers has turned into an important $1 trillion asset class with more players, greater sophistication, and much more capital. We’re seeing significant private equity allocations to minerals and non-operated assets, a growing number of large aggregators and public companies in this area, as well as an increasing awareness among the E&P community that a dedicated non-operated strategy can be an important way to drive incremental value from their asset base,” said Hughes.

Gabe Wilcox, CEO and Co-Founder at MineralSoft added, “The most exciting part of this acquisition is on the technology and data exchange side. We know our systems work seamlessly together because we’ve been collaborating for nearly two years. Every monthly revenue statement or joint interest billing that our customers receive, which might consist of hundreds of pages and thousands of line items, is full of potentially valuable data and actionable insights about the portfolio, but it’s hard to unlock that value when the data is sitting in a static spreadsheet, filing cabinet, or – almost as bad – in an oil and gas accounting system that was never designed to be a portfolio management and analytics tool.”

By digging deeper into asset inventory, land documents, and monthly revenue and expense data in the context of regulatory and other asset information, Drillinginfo answers questions that are important for mineral and non-operated owners and for reporting to shareholders impacted by strategic decisions, such as forecasting asset values, identifying inaccurate or missing payments, and providing insights into portfolio performance.

MineralSoft will be hosting a webinar on January 23, 2019 to showcase how its software can be used to assist mineral owners and others interested in non-operated oil and gas working interests.

Currently, MineralSoft works with more than 120 institutional clients, and handles more than $100M of royalty and non-operated revenue monthly across 225,000 client-owned wells. In 2018 alone, MineralSoft clients logged more than $1.3B of mineral acquisitions on the platform.

Drillinginfo recently acquired Oildex, the largest oil & gas financial automation software firm in North America, and announced intent to acquire Cortex, a Network-as-a-Service company that enables automation of accounts payable and receivable (AP and AR) processes for the oil and gas industry.

About Drillinginfo

Drillinginfo delivers business-critical insights to the energy, power, and commodities markets. Its state-of-the-art SaaS platform offers sophisticated technology, powerful analytics, and industry-leading data. Drillinginfo’s solutions deliver value across upstream, midstream and downstream markets, empowering exploration and production (E&P), oilfield services, midstream, utilities, trading and risk, and capital markets companies to be more collaborative, efficient, and competitive. Drillinginfo delivers actionable intelligence over mobile, web, and desktop to analyze and reduce risk, conduct competitive benchmarking, and uncover market insights. Drillinginfo is a portfolio company of Genstar Capital and serves over 5,000 companies globally from its Austin, Texas, headquarters and has more than 1,000 employees. For more information visit drillinginfo.com.

About MineralSoft

MineralSoft, previously backed by Cottonwood Venture Partners, Blue Bear Capital, and Y Combinator, is the leading software platform for managing minerals, royalties, and non-operated working interests. Focused exclusively on helping owners of these non-operated assets maximize value, MineralSoft delivers powerful revenue and land management solutions through its SaaS platform. MineralSoft’s customers include investment funds, foundations and endowments, corporations and institutions, family offices and trusts, and individuals. The platform helps customers manage their mineral portfolios more efficiently, maximize revenue across all their assets, and make informed, data-driven decisions. MineralSoft has 35 employees and is headquartered in Austin, Texas. Learn more at mineralsoft.com.

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MEDIA INQUIRIES:

Contact: Jon Haubert
303.396.5996

 

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Offer to chairpersons in Investor’s Listed Core Investments to participate in 5-year option programs

Investor

2019-01-24 08:22 GMT+01

Investor AB intends to offer chairpersons in companies within Investor’s Listed Core Investments the possibility to invest in call options with a duration of five years. In some cases, Investor has initiated discussions with other large owners whether they also want to enter into an option agreement with the respective chairperson.

The offer is voluntary, implies an exercise price of 110 percent of the share price and the participants can invest two to five million SEK. The options are priced at market terms and an independent third party valuation will be conducted.

Investor’s President and CEO Johan Forssell comments:

”The chairperson has a particularly important role in driving a successful board work. As a long-term and engaged owner, it is our ambition to create further incentives for the boards to act and take decisions that long-term are best for the companies and thus, their shareholders. We believe in personal financial commitment and hence want members of the boards to build up an ownership that corresponds to one year’s gross board fee over a five year period. The offer to invest in options will not replace this ambition.”

The intention is to make the offer to the chairpersons during the first quarter 2019. The offer will not include listed companies that are chaired by Jacob Wallenberg or Marcus Wallenberg. Investor will communicate which chairpersons that have decided to accept the offer and at what terms.

For further information:

Viveka Hirdman-Ryrberg, Head of Corporate Communication and Sustainability: +46 70 550 3500
viveka.hirdman-ryrberg@investorab.com

Magnus Dalhammar, Head of Investor Relations: +46 735 24 2130
magnus.dalhammar@investorab.com

Our press releases can be accessed at www.investorab.com

Investor, founded by the Wallenberg family a hundred years ago, is the leading owner of high quality Nordic-based international companies. Through board participation, our industrial experience, network and financial strength, we strive to make our companies best-in-class. Our holdings include, among others, ABB, Atlas Copco, Ericsson, Mölnlycke and SEB.

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EQT acquires Osmose Utilities Services, Inc.

eqt

  • EQT Infrastructure has acquired Osmose Utilities Services, Inc., the leading provider of critical inspection, maintenance and restoration services for utility and telecom infrastructure in the U.S.
  • Osmose benefits from attractive long-term industry tailwinds driven by aging infrastructure and increasing regulation and utilization of infrastructure for telecommunications
  • EQT Infrastructure to support Osmose’s pursuit of growth and continued operational improvement by leveraging EQT’s deep sector expertise in utility and telecom end markets as well as its network of Industrial Advisors

EQT Infrastructure today announced that it has acquired Osmose Utilities Services, Inc. (”Osmose” or the “Company”) from Kohlberg Investors VII, a fund managed by Kohlberg & Company, LLC. Osmose will maintain its corporate headquarters in Peachtree City, Georgia, under the continued leadership of CEO Ron Childress and the Osmose management team. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1934, Osmose is the leading provider of critical inspection, maintenance and restoration services for wood and steel infrastructure in the United States. Osmose leverages its scale, multi-decade operational experience and proprietary data analytics to deliver a unique and essential service that is cost-effective, improves infrastructure reliability and reduces risk for its utility and telecom customers. This strong value proposition, combined with service, quality and a world-class safety record, has allowed Osmose to maintain relationships averaging around 40 years with its top 50 customers.

EQT will support Osmose in its next phase of development as the Company focuses on accelerating service expansion with existing and new customers, further enhancing its data analytics capabilities and scaling its base of talented and high-performing foremen to support growth. Moreover, EQT will leverage its bench of Industrial Advisors with extensive experience in utilities, telecom and similar services businesses to drive growth and achieve operational efficiencies.

Erwin Thompson, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT Infrastructure commented: “Osmose is unique among utility services businesses due to its strong infrastructure characteristics and fits perfectly within EQT Infrastructure’s approach of targeting high-quality, stable businesses with transformation potential. We have been impressed with the Company’s historical growth trajectory and ongoing transformation fueled by a data-based sales strategy. We are excited by the opportunity to help shape the next phase of growth for Osmose, together with an exceptionally talented group of people led by CEO Ron Childress and supported by an outstanding executive management team.”

“We have enjoyed building a relationship with EQT throughout this process and are confident this partnership will help Osmose achieve continued success in the future,” commented Ron Childress, CEO of Osmose. “We are excited to leverage EQT’s extensive resources as we continue investing in new capabilities and expanding into new markets to accelerate growth. We appreciate the investment and partnership Kohlberg offered throughout their ownership, which positioned us well for long-term success.”

“We have enjoyed our partnership with Ron and the Osmose team, who have uniquely positioned the Company as a differentiated market leader with significant growth capabilities and expansion opportunities in the utilities services market,” commented Benjamin Mao, Partner at Kohlberg & Company. “We look forward to the continued success of Osmose in partnership with EQT.”

Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to EQT Infrastructure. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Harris Williams served as financial advisors and Ropes & Gray LLP acted as legal counsel to Osmose.

Contact
Erwin Thompson, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT Infrastructure, +1 917 281 0841
US inquiries: Stephanie Greengarten, +1 646 687 6810, stephanie.greengarten@eqtpartners.com
International inquiries: EQT Press Office, +46 8 506 55, 334, press@eqtpartners.com

About EQT
EQT is a leading alternative investments firm founded in 1994, with more than EUR 50 billion in raised capital across 28 funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 19 billion and approximately 110,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership. 

More info: www.eqtpartners.com

About Osmose Utilities Services, Inc.
Founded in 1934, Osmose is the market-leading provider of critical inspection, maintenance and restoration services for utility and telecom infrastructure in North America. Osmose’s services include wood pole inspection, treatment and restoration, steel structure inspection and rehabilitation, structural engineering services, and other ancillary services. Osmose employs 3,258 people including 2,613 field employees across the country, as well as professional engineers, corrosion experts and software developers at its headquarters in Peachtree City, Georgia.

More info: www.osmose.com

About Kohlberg & Company, LLC
Kohlberg & Company, LLC (“Kohlberg”) is a leading private equity firm headquartered in Mount Kisco, New York. Since its inception in 1987, Kohlberg has organized eight private equity funds, through which it has raised over $7.5 billion of committed equity capital. Over its 32-year history, Kohlberg has completed 76 platform investments and nearly 200 add-on acquisitions, with an aggregate transaction value of over $15 billion.

More info: www.kohlberg.com

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AI-powered property valuation platform GeoPhy secures $33M to bring transparency to Real Estate Market

Inkef Capital

Delft, The Netherlands, January 24, 2019 — GeoPhy, an AI-powered real estate valuation platform has raised USD $33 million from investors to boost its global expansion. Index Ventures, the London and San Francisco-based venture capital firm, led the Series B round. They were joined by existing investors Inkef Capital and Hearst Ventures.

Co-founded by two former architects, Teun van den Dries (CEO) and Sander Mulders (CTO), GeoPhy aims to bring greater transparency and accuracy to the global property market. In the wake of the 2007 financial crisis — triggered, in part, by a poor understanding of securities pegged to real estate — financial institutions of all stripes are striving to get a clearer picture of the present and future value of property portfolios.

“We aim to understand the value of every building in the world,” van den Dries says. “We’re trying to shift the whole paradigm of property valuation.”

Currently focused on commercial real estate (CRE), GeoPhy’s technology captures thousands of data-points from public and private sources, including satellite images and sales data. It scours a growing database of 150 million property records for relationships between asset values and features such as location characteristics, demographics, and economic data like interest rates and stock indices. It also considers innovative ‘hyperlocal’ factors such as transport links, green spaces, density of independent coffee shops, crime rates, and even the tone of reviews for local businesses.

The standard approach to CRE asset valuation relies on a combination of intuition and limited, anecdotal data. The process can take between 30 to 45 days and cost between USD $4,000 – $6,000. The method is necessarily retrospective, and predictions about future income streams are proprietary and difficult to obtain.

By contrast, GeoPhy’s use of supervised machine learning, sifts through the breadth of traditional and unconventional data available today to provide detailed, bias-free insight about the current value and potential appreciation of CRE assets at scale for a fraction of the time and cost. Currently, the average gap between a standard CRE appraisal and the actual sales price is between 5-6% in the US and UK. GeoPhy’s technology brings that error down to near 0%, and reduces the median absolute percentage error in the US/UK from 15% to 5%.

GeoPhy has garnered interest from a wide spectrum of clients including major rating agencies, banks, pension funds, investors, national regulators and large government-backed enterprises in the US and Europe. Customers include Fannie Mae, the US mortgage provider, FTSE Russell, the British corporation that sells stock market data services, and Walker & Dunlop, the US-based CRE finance and lending group.

Van den Dries, GeoPhy’s CEO, commented: “Real estate is foundational to all areas of economic activity — to everyday life, in fact — but much of it is based on inaccurate or biased data. Furthermore, there’s an information asymmetry that distorts the market and leads to volatility. By providing a quicker, more reliable and intelligent service, GeoPhy helps its customers make better decisions, and promotes a better functioning market.”

Jan Hammer, Index Ventures partner who joins the board, added: “GeoPhy is bringing much-needed innovation to the antiquated property sector. Much of the world’s wealth is in real estate, yet we understand very little about how to accurately value it, or about the forces that have an impact on it. This is a critical issue for everyone from portfolio managers to central bankers, and we believe GeoPhy’s technology has the potential to improve how the market operates.”

Real estate is the world’s largest asset class, with global investment in CRE reaching an estimated USD $730 billion in 2018. Due to rising wealth in the global economy, real estate continues to be a preferred source of investment for wealth storage, capital appreciation, and income return.

Find out more here.

About GeoPhy
Founded in 2014, GeoPhy aims to transform antiquated commercial real estate (CRE) processes with data-driven valuations and analytics powered by machine learning. Its AI-powered valuations uncover value drivers that help steer acquisition due diligence, portfolio monitoring, and site selection for institutional lenders and investors in the real estate and financial sectors. Headquartered in Delft, the Netherlands, GeoPhy also has offices in New York, London and Kaunas (Lithuania).

About Index Ventures
Index is a London and San Francisco-based international venture capital firm that helps the most ambitious entrepreneurs turn bold ideas into global businesses. Index-backed companies that are reshaping the world around us include Adyen, Deliveroo, Dropbox, Elastic, Funding Circle and Slack. To learn more, visit www.indexventures.com.

About Inkef Capital
Inkef Capital is an Amsterdam-based venture capital firm that focuses on long-term collaboration and active support of innovative technology and healthcare companies. Inkef Capital was founded in 2010 by Dutch pension fund ABP and with €500 million under management it is one of the largest venture capital funds in the Netherlands. Inkef focuses on investment opportunities in Healthcare, Technology, IT/New Media & FinTech.

About Hearst Ventures
Hearst Ventures is a global investment group that makes strategic investments in fast-growing companies in the media and technology sectors. Since its initial investment in Netscape in 1995, the group has grown to become one of the most active and successful corporate venture funds, with more than $1 billion in strategic investments in companies including BuzzFeed, E Ink, Hootsuite, Pandora, Roku, Via and XM Satellite Radio.

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