Category Archives: News

AURELIUS GROUP JOINS UN GLOBAL COMPACT INITIATIVE

Aurelius Capital

Munich, 21. April 2022 – AURELIUS Group has joined the UN Global Compact (UNGC) and its German subsidiary, Deutsches Global Compact Netzwerk (DGCN). The membership underlines AURELIUS´ commitment to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) values within everyday practice and complements the Group’s participation at the UN PRI network in December 2021.

The UN Global Compact is the world’s largest and most important initiative for sustainable and responsible corporate governance, globally connecting more than 19,000 companies and organisations. The German subsidiary DGCN has more than 780 participants across business, civil society and politics. The UNGC supports companies in strategically incorporating sustainability values based on ten universal principles and in contributing to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. In line with the UNGC, AURELIUS commits to the initiative´s ten principles, which are assigned to the categories: Human Rights, Labour, Environment and Anti-Corruption.

“Walk the talk – there are not many economic fields where this saying is as resonating as it is with ESG. At AURELIUS, we are not only fully committed to supporting the UNGC´s values – we are also deeply convinced that our organisation and our people can contribute a small piece to the initiatives vision. Joining the UNGC and DGCN is a logical step for us and is aligned with our core values”, stated Matthias Täubl, AURELIUS CEO.

As an official member of UNGC and DGCN, AURELIUS will proudly integrate the principles into its corporate culture and strategy. They will be promoted in the best possible way within day-to-day operation.

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American Laboratory Products Company Merges with GeneProof

Ampersand

American Laboratory Products Company Merges with GeneProof

SALEM, N.H. and BRNO, Czech Republic, April 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — American Laboratory Products Company, Ltd. (“ALPCO”), a specialty in vitro diagnostics company, today announced a merger with GeneProof a.s. (“GeneProof”), a leading molecular diagnostics company based in Brno, Czech Republic. The combination creates a global market leader in the diagnostic products market, with broad capabilities spanning novel immunoassay testing kits, real-time PCR testing products, and automated laboratory instrumentation solutions.

GeneProof was founded over 15 years ago by Drs. Radek Horvath and Milos Dendis and is an established market leader in the molecular diagnostics field. Both Founders will remain with the merged company and continue as significant shareholders. GeneProof is the largest producer of PCR reagents in the Czech Republic and distributes its portfolio of more than 70 CE-marked molecular diagnostic tests and instruments throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and South America. Products are primarily focused on the infectious and genetic diseases. With a strong emphasis on quality, GeneProof offers technologically advanced real-time PCR kits and user-friendly automated instrument platforms for both nucleic acid extraction and sample-to-answer testing that meet the diverse throughput needs of laboratories.

The combined company is majority owned by Ampersand Capital Partners (“Ampersand”), which first invested in ALPCO in 2020.

“ALPCO and GeneProof have both earned great reputations in their respective markets, ALPCO in immunodiagnostics and GeneProof in molecular diagnostics,” said Sean Conley, President and CEO of ALPCO. “The combination of the two companies transforms both organizations into a more complete solutions provider and aligns well with ALPCO’s strategy of investing in proprietary automated platforms.”

Radek Horvath, CEO of GeneProof, added, “This strategic connection represents a new chapter in the life of both companies. It will facilitate the entry of GeneProof products into the US market, and similarly, expand the presence of ALPCO products into the EU and around the world. The combination of deep knowledge in the field of molecular diagnostics as well as in the field of immunological diagnostics will bring a significant synergistic effect. The two merged companies intend to use each other’s technological experience and rely on the support of our strong partner, Ampersand, for further development.”

Eric Lev, General Partner at Ampersand and Board member of ALPCO added, “I look forward to working with Sean, Radek, and Milos as we build the combined company into a fully integrated global leader in the field of diagnostics and commercialize GeneProof’s fully automated real-time PCR offerings in the North American market.”

About ALPCO

American Laboratory Products Company (ALPCO) was founded in 1991 as an importer and distributor of immunoassay-based products for the North American life science markets. The company has since evolved into a leading producer of novel immunodiagnostic reagents for specialty testing laboratories. In September of 2020, ALPCO announced the recapitalization of the company by Ampersand Capital Partners. Ampersand’s investment was sought to accelerate ALPCO’s global growth initiatives, including the expansion of the company’s diagnostics reagent offering, broadening the company’s geographic presence, and fueling technological advancement. For additional information, please visit www.alpco.com.

About GeneProof

Based in Brno, Czech Republic, GeneProof a.s. was founded in 2005 by Dr. Radek Horvath and Dr. Milos Dendis. GeneProof offers a wide range of in vitro molecular diagnostic products, primarily focused on the infectious diseases and genetic mutations. The Company has established a portfolio of more than 70 CE-marked PCR test kits and a proprietary instrumentation offering to serve laboratories of all sizes. GeneProof’s sales and distribution network covers more than 60 countries around the world. For detailed information see www.geneproof.com.

About Ampersand Capital Partners

Founded in 1988, Ampersand is a middle market private equity firm with more than $2 billion of assets under management dedicated to growth-oriented investments in the healthcare sector. With offices in Boston and Amsterdam, Ampersand leverages its unique blend of private equity and operating experience to build value and drive superior long-term performance alongside its portfolio company management teams. Ampersand has helped build numerous market-leading companies across each of the firm’s core healthcare sectors. Additional information about Ampersand is available at ampersandcapital.com.

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Blackstone Announces Close of Blackstone Life Sciences Yield Fund at $1.6 Billion

Blackstone

–Fund enhances firm’s capacity to invest in life sciences innovation and is the largest first-time fund of its kind

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.– Blackstone (NYSE: BX) today announced the close of Blackstone Life Sciences Yield (“BXLS Yield”), its inaugural royalty and structured credit-focused life sciences fund. The fund was oversubscribed and is the largest first-time fund of this nature. It closed with $1.6 billion of investor capital focused on post-approval, commercial-stage opportunities. It complements the flagship strategy of BXLS, which invests in late-stage product development. Together, the two pools of capital enable BXLS to support end-to-end life science innovation at scale and showcase Blackstone’s deep conviction in this sector.

Nicholas Galakatos, Ph.D., Global Head of Blackstone Life Sciences, said: “Blackstone Life Sciences aims to invest across the full lifecycle of innovative medicines and medical technologies. BXLS Yield comes at a critical time for many companies in need of structured credit and royalty opportunities as they seek to grow their business in challenging market conditions. We anticipate these two pools of capital will allow us to offer strategic financing solutions to our partners as we did through our $2 billion collaboration with Alnylam in April 2020.”

Craig Shepherd, Senior Managing Director with Blackstone Life Sciences, added: “The diversity of capital, resources and scientific expertise that Blackstone can offer is a clear differentiator. We are excited to continue partnering with leading life sciences companies around the world and to help grow their businesses.”

BXLS Yield further scales and diversifies Blackstone’s life sciences investing capabilities. The firm launched Blackstone Life Sciences nearly four years ago in response to the unprecedented innovation unleashed in the space by emergent technologies and scientific advancement. Since then, it has transformed into an industry-leading investment platform, meeting global demand for different forms of capital and scientific expertise. Through its flagship strategy, the team sources, evaluates and actively supports potentially transformative products and therapies.

About Blackstone Life Sciences
Blackstone Life Sciences is an industry-leading private investment platform with capabilities to invest across the life cycle of companies and products within the key life science sectors. By combining scale investments and hands-on operational leadership, Blackstone Life Sciences helps bring to market promising new medicines and medical technologies that improve patients’ lives. More information is provided at https://www.blackstone.com/our-businesses/life-sciences/.

Contact
Paula Chirhart
+1 347 463 5453
paula.chirhart@blackstone.com

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Partners Group to acquire Version 1, a leading digital transformation services provider in the UK and Ireland

Partners Group
  • Version 1 has around 450 clients across the private and public sector
  • The digital transformation services sector is experiencing strong tailwinds
  • Partners Group plans to work with Version 1’s best-in-class management team to support its accelerated growth journey and further internationalization

Partners Group, a leading global private markets firm, has, on behalf of its clients, agreed to acquire Version 1 (or “the Company”), one of the leading digital transformation services providers in the UK and Ireland, from Volpi Capital and management.

Headquartered in Dublin, Version 1 works with private and public sector clients on complex digital transformation programs. The Company’s services include application modernization, cloud migration services, and cloud-native software engineering, which involves the development of applications in the cloud. Version 1 has approximately 450 clients, including blue-chip companies and central government departments, and 2,100 employees across offices in Ireland, the UK, India, and Spain. In the last ten years, the Company has successfully integrated 13 add-on acquisitions that have expanded its service portfolio and geographic coverage. The digital transformation services sector is experiencing strong tailwinds including increasing company investment in new digital initiatives and solutions and the growing need to migrate technology infrastructure to the cloud.

Partners Group will work with Version 1’s management team in its next phase of growth as a leading digital transformation specialist. Partners Group’s value creation plan aims to achieve double-digit growth by developing the Company’s service offering and technical depth, building its international presence, and pursuing accretive M&A.

Kim Nguyen, Partner, Co-Head Private Equity Services, Partners Group, says: “We have been tracking Version 1 through our thematic focus on digital transformation. Based on our investment and value creation track record related to this theme, we value Version 1’s strong leadership team, differentiated offering, and operations which are reflected by excellent customer and employee satisfaction scores, and impressive organic growth. The Company is well-positioned to capitalize on the tailwinds driving increased digitization across both the private and public sector and we have conviction in its growth prospects. We look forward to working with Version 1’s ambitious management team on our value creation plan.”

Tom O’Connor, Chief Executive Officer, Version 1, comments: “We are extremely pleased to have secured Partners Group as our new partner and majority shareholder. Throughout our process, the firm’s core values, track record and ambition best matched those of Version 1. Partners Group’s sectoral knowledge and international reach will be as important to Version 1 as their investment and endorsement of our growth strategy. We are also pleased for our customers and staff who will benefit as we continue to grow and add more great people to the Version 1 team.”

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Invitation to a presentation of Ratos Interim report January-March 2022

Ratos

The Interim report January-March 2022 will be released on Monday 2 May at 07.00 CEST.

At 09.00 CEST a telephone conference will be held where Jonas Wiström, President and CEO, and Jonas Ågrup, CFO, will present the report.

Participant connection: UK: +44 333 300 9274, SE: +46 8 505 583 54, US: +1 646 722 4956. The telephone conference will be webcasted live at www.ratos.com where presentation material will be available as soon as the report is released.

The telephone conference will be recorded and available at www.ratos.com.

Representatives of the media are welcome to contact Josefine Uppling, VP Communication, for interview requests.

For further information
Josefine Uppling, Vice President Communication
+46 76 114 54 21
josefine.uppling@ratos.com

About Ratos
Ratos is a business group consisting of 13 companies divided into three business areas: Construction & Services, Consumer and Industry. In total 2021, the companies have approximately SEK 35 billion in sales. Our business concept is to develop companies headquartered in the Nordics that are or can become market leaders. We enable independent companies to excel by being part of something larger. People, leadership, culture and values are key focus areas for Ratos. Everything we do is based on Ratos’s core values: Simplicity, Speed in Execution and It’s All About People.

Categories: News

GBL acquires a majority stake in Sanoptis, a European leader in ophthalmology clinics, to accelerate the company’s growth in partnership with its management and doctors

GBL

Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (“GBL”) has signed definitive agreements to acquire a majority stake in Sanoptis,
a leading network of ophthalmology clinics across Germany and Switzerland, from Telemos Capital (“Telemos”). GBL
is committing up to EUR 750 million in equity for this transaction. As part of the transaction, the incumbent
management will increase its stake in the company by way of a substantial reinvestment. GBL and management plan
to continue together the impressive growth story of Sanoptis, both in existing markets as well as in new, attractive
European geographies.

Founded in 2018, Sanoptis has rapidly grown to become the second largest European ophthalmology services provider
with over 250 facilities, serving both publicly and privately insured patients. For GBL and management, the ambition
will be to continue Sanoptis’ growth organically and through acquisitions. The company will remain focused on
adhering to the highest quality standards while delivering essential medical services of the highest grade to the
German and Swiss population in partnership with local regulators and payors. Further growth will increase the depth
and breadth of these high-quality services.
Sanoptis has a unique business model; it targets active partnerships with leading surgeons who remain shareholders
in their clinics after joining the Sanoptis group. Within its network, Sanoptis drives growth by: (i) sharing medical and
other best practices while preserving the doctors’ autonomy and (ii) implementing cutting-edge medical innovations
while investing in top-notch equipment. GBL strongly believes in this partnership model and envisions to further
grow Sanoptis along the same strategy.

This transaction marks GBL’s second consecutive private investment in the healthcare sector in 2022. Healthcare is one
of GBL’s four focus investment sectors, along with consumer experience, technology and sustainability. The Sanoptis
transaction also corresponds to GBL’s ambition to increase the representation of controlled private and alternative
assets within its portfolio. The group’s long-term objective is that private and alternative investments account for
approximately 40% of its portfolio (versus 25% as of end 2021).
Ian Gallienne, CEO of GBL, commented: “As a private asset in the highly-attractive healthcare sector, Sanoptis is an excellent
fit with our investment strategy. Together with management, we look forward to further solidifying Sanoptis’ leadership positions
in its core markets as well as expanding into other European countries.”
Michal Chalaczkiewicz, GBL Investment Partner, added: “Sanoptis is at the forefront of the ophthalmology field, which is
supported by long-term, resilient growth, underpinned by secular trends. We believe Sanoptis’ unique partnership model with
doctors is its most important asset, which will support the continuation of its impressive growth trajectory.”
Jens Riedl, GBL Investment Partner responsible for the DACH region, stated: “After our acquisition of Canyon,
the fast-growing direct-to-consumer manufacturer and seller of premium bicycles, Sanoptis is our second private investment in
DACH, where we have the opportunity to team up with an exceptional team of entrepreneurs.”
For Volker Wendel, Founder and CEO of Sanoptis: “We are excited to continue our success story with a strong and
sustainable partner who fully supports our doctor-oriented culture and entrepreneurial strategy. Continuing business in the same
way as we did in the last four years, we see a lot of potential for future growth in DACH and other European countries. That’s
why management remains fully committed and will substantially increase its stake in the company.”
GBL has been advised by Goldman Sachs, Bain & Company, EY and Kirkland & Ellis.

Delivering meaningful growth
Privileged and regulated information – April 20, 2022 // Page 2 / 2 // For more information: www.gbl.be
The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2022.
For more information, please contact:
Xavier Likin Alison Donohoe
Chief Financial Officer Head of Investor Relations
Tel: +32 2 289 17 72 Tel: +32 2 289 17 64
xlikin@gbl.be adonohoe@gbl.be

About Sanoptis
Sanoptis is a leading German and Swiss ophthalmology services provider with approximately EUR 300 million of
revenue in 2021. Founded in 2018 by CEO Volker Wendel and CDO Carsten Horn, Sanoptis has rapidly grown to
become a leading European ophthalmology services provider, with over 250 facilities across Germany and
Switzerland, serving both publicly and privately insured patients. The company offers both conservative
ophthalmology consultations and surgical treatments including cataract surgeries, intravitreal operative medicine
injections (IVOM), laser eye surgeries and retina surgeries. Sanoptis performs over 1.3 million consultations and
170,000 surgical procedures annually, while adhering to the highest standards of healthcare through its leading
doctor base and thorough quality management.

About Telemos Capital
Telemos comprises a team of highly experienced investment professionals that combine the best of private equity
and permanent capital. Founded in 2017, Telemos identifies and supports exceptional management teams in
consumer goods, healthcare services, and business services to help them realise their long-term objectives. As a
flexible and nimble investor, Telemos’ distinct structure and expertise make it a leading, new generation European
private equity firm, looking to identify and unlock attractive opportunities for growth and value creation.

About Groupe Bruxelles Lambert
Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (“GBL”) is an established investment holding company, with over sixty years of stock
exchange listing, a net asset value of EUR 22.5 billion and a market capitalization of EUR 15.3 billion at the end of
December 2021. GBL is a leading investor in Europe, focused on long-term value creation and relying on a stable and
supportive family shareholder base. GBL is both a responsible company and investor and perceives ESG factors as
being inextricably linked to value creation.
GBL strives to maintain a diversified high-quality portfolio of listed and private assets as well as alternative
investments (through Sienna Investment Managers, the group’s alternative investment platform), composed of
international companies that are leaders in their sectors, to which it can contribute to value creation by being an
active, supportive and professional investor.
GBL is focused on delivering meaningful growth by providing attractive returns to its shareholders through a
combination of growth in its net asset value, a sustainable dividend and share buybacks.
GBL is listed on the Euronext Brussels stock exchange (Ticker: GBLB BB; ISIN code: BE0003797140) and is included
in the BEL20 index

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Apollo Funds Acquire Tony’s Fresh Market, a Leading Chicago-Based Specialty Grocer

Known for High-Quality, Fresh and Affordable Foods, Tony’s Proudly Operates in Traditionally Underserved Communities Across Chicagoland

NEW YORK and CHICAGO, April 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Apollo (NYSE: APO) today announced that funds managed by its affiliates (the “Apollo Funds”) have acquired Tony’s Fresh Market (“Tony’s”), a leading Chicago-based grocery retailer. Established in 1979, Tony’s is a unique specialty grocer that offers high-quality, affordable groceries with an inclusive assortment aimed at the diverse communities it serves. A large selection of fresh produce, extensive multicultural offerings and a wide range of prepared foods gives Tony’s a differentiated position in the market.

Today, Tony’s operates 18 stores across the Chicago metropolitan area with several more store locations currently in development. Tony’s plays an important role in the local economy and community, sourcing products from over 400 vendors and providing affordable, high-quality food to thousands of families. The business has been family-owned and operated since its founding more than 40 years ago, and the founding family will partner with Apollo, both in management roles and as shareholders going forward.

Frank Ingraffia, the CEO of Tony’s and a member of the founding family, said, “My family has been feeding our communities for generations and are incredibly excited to partner with Apollo to build upon that legacy of fresh and healthy food, at an affordable price and delivered with respect to the many cultures of our customers.”

“Tony’s is a market leader that’s built an incredible reputation in Chicago, known for its high-quality foods and differentiated offering that includes international food options and commitment to customer service,” said Apollo Partner Andrew Jhawar. “Having spent more than 20 years leading Apollo’s private equity investments in grocery and retail, I firmly believe the business is poised for strong organic growth, and together we see additional opportunities to support Tony’s through go-to-market execution, customer loyalty programs, e-commerce and more. Tony, Frank and the broader team have built an incredible business and we look forward to leveraging our extensive expertise to support their continued success.”

Joanna Reiss, Apollo Partner and Co-Lead of Impact Investing, said “We are focused on tackling the persistent challenge of access to healthy and affordable food, particularly in underserved communities. With our investment in Tony’s, we are proud to support a high-performing company that is increasing access to quality, affordable groceries in a broad swath of neighborhoods as well as donating to local food banks to fight hunger. We hope to further strengthen and scale Tony’s, and by doing so achieve strong financial performance alongside even greater impact.”

Across its platform, Apollo has an extensive and successful track record investing in grocery companies, including leading franchises such as The Fresh Market, Sprouts Farmers Market, Smart & Final, Albertsons and more, through both past and present fund investments.

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP acted as legal counsel to the Apollo Funds. Stout Capital, LLC acted as financial advisor and McDermott Will & Emery LLP acted as legal counsel to Tony’s Fresh Market.

About Apollo
Apollo is a high-growth, global alternative asset manager. We seek to provide our clients excess return at every point along the risk-reward spectrum from Investment grade to private equity with a focus on three business strategies: yield, hybrid and opportunistic. Through our investment activity across our fully integrated platform, we serve the retirement income and financial return needs of our clients, and we offer innovative capital solutions to businesses. Our patient, creative, knowledgeable approach to investing aligns our clients, businesses we invest in, our employees and the communities we impact, to expand opportunity and achieve positive outcomes. As of December 31, 2021, Apollo had approximately $498 billion assets under management. To learn more, visit www.apollo.com.

Contacts

For Investors:

Noah Gunn
Global Head of Investor Relations
Apollo Global Management, Inc.
(212) 822-0540
IR@apollo.com

For Media:

Joanna Rose
Global Head of Corporate Communications
Apollo Global Management, Inc.
(212) 822-0491
Communications@apollo.com

 


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Source: Apollo Global Management, Inc.

Categories: News

Blanchon, a leading European player in protective and decoration coatings and paints for the home improvement market, accelerates its international growth with the acquisition of RIGO in the Netherlands

IK Partners

Lyon, April 20th 2022. Blanchon Group announces the acquisition of Rigo Verffabriek and Rigo Verfcentrum, a Dutch family-owned business (“the Company”, “the Group” or “RIGO”), specialising in the design and manufacturing of finishing products for wood and paints for heritage buildings, dedicated to professional customers.

This acquisition is part of the Blanchon Group strategy to accelerate its international growth and become a European leader in protection, maintenance, renovation and decoration of indoor and outdoor wood surfaces and vinyl flooring. With very strong product brands, including Skylt, Step, Royl, Toplin and Skyn combined with significant sales growth over the last decade, RIGO has become the market leader in the wooden floor segment in the Netherlands. The Company operates from Ijmuiden, Netherlands and this site will be added to the well-established European subsidiaries of Blanchon, to accelerate the group international business growth.

Leveraging on the complementary combination of the Blanchon and RIGO product lines and strong brands awareness, as well as on their respective client portfolios, this acquisition allows Blanchon Group to become the wooden floor market leader in The Netherlands for professionals. Further to the acquisition of Ciranova in June 2021, the Blanchon Group is fully established as the market leader in the Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg area, representing the largest region, next to France.

RIGO’s previous owners and top management will remain fully involved in the company and takes over the overall responsibility for the Benelux region, and have invested into the Blanchon group alongside with current shareholders.

Guillaume Clément, President and CEO of the Blanchon Group, said: “We are very pleased to welcome the talented RIGO team to Blanchon Group. The acquisition of RIGO is a perfect match. RIGO has family roots like Blanchon and a deep entrepreneurial spirit forged by three generations since 1938. RIGO’s product quality and brand reputation, combined with its strong expertise in flooring and furniture, are key success factors. Furthermore, RIGO has invested substantially in developing a sustainable product offering, which includes the iconic Toplin product range. We are now in a position to offer the largest wood care product offering, both for indoor and outdoor applications, under three complementary and highly recognised brands: RIGO, Blanchon and Ciranova. All products will be locally available in the Netherlands with the ambition to fully support our Dutch professional customers’ business growth.”

Toon Van Westerhoven, Co-owner of RIGO, said: “We are very pleased to join Blanchon Group as we share the same DNA and values. It is for this reason that myself and my brother, Machiel Van Westerhoven, decided to sell our shares to Blanchon. We have succeeded in building a strong brand in the Netherlands to date and it is now time to build a stronger company. By joining Blanchon Group, we can benefit from the combined knowledge, techniques and assets.”

Michael Van Westerhoven, Co-Owner of RIGO, added: “The acquisition will allow RIGO to expand into new market segments and countries while leveraging the Blanchon Group organisation and indeed, it will further strengthen RIGO’s position in the Benelux region. This is a great journey to embark on and a promising new chapter for our company.”

Contact Details:
Blanchon Group: Alexia Fleury – afleury@blanchon.com,
Rigo Verffabriek: Toon Van Westerhoven – toon@rigoverffabriek.nl

About Blanchon

Founded in 1832, Blanchon is a specialist in protective and decoration coatings for wood and vinyl substrates for indoor and outdoor applications. The group services more than 8000 customers globally with its brand ‘Syntilor’ – dedicated to DIY, ‘Blanchon’ and ‘Ciranova’ and ‘Carver’ – for professionals, and ‘Blanchon Industrie’ and ‘Ciranova Industrial Finishes’ – for flooring manufacturers. The group is recognized for its high quality and sustainable product offerings, and its local technical expertise to support customers. Blanchon group was first to launch in 2020 a complete wood care Bio-based product offering for professional and end-consumers. It operates through 7 subsidies in France, Belgium, Italy, Poland, UK, USA and China and employs approximatively 400 people. For more information, visit www.groupeblanchon.com

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About RIGO Verffabriek

The Rigo Verffabriek Group is specialised in the development and production of finishing products for parquet, furniture and wood for more than 80 years, with a focus on professional segment in the Netherlands. It is a family company, run by the third generation Machiel Van Westerhoven and Toon Van Westerhoven, together with their partners Amanda and Henriette. The Group consists of a production and distribution company in the Netherlands, located in Ijmuiden, NL. It employs ~55 people, all based in the Netherlands. Rigo’s values and culture are characterised by product quality, and innovation, and sustainable growth and strong customer relationships with high service level to craftsmen. ‘Alles voor het meesterwerk’ (‘All for the masterpiece) is the company moto. For more information, visit www.rigoverffabriek.nl

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Antin acquires SNRG, a UK developer and operator of smart grids

Antin

Acquisition represents the first investment in its NextGen strategy

Antin Infrastructure Partners (“Antin”, Ticker: ANTIN – ISIN: FR0014005AL0) announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake in SNRG, an owner-operator of fully integrated smart grid systems for both residential and industrial & commercial customers.

The acquisition is the first made by Antin as part of its NextGen strategy announced last year. SNRG provides an innovative solution to decarbonise buildings whilst delivering significant savings to its customers. Building emissions contribute c.20% of total UK CO2 emissions due to a historic reliance on fossil fuels, including gas, to provide heat to buildings. For the UK to meet its Net Zero 2050 targets it will need to reduce those emissions by 40% by 2030.

SNRG offers customers a ‘one-stop-shop’ for smart grid solutions comprising grid connections, distribution networks, solar PV panels, batteries, heat pumps and community EV charging. This integrated approach – design, fund, build & operate – combined with SNRG’s optimisation technology will maximise upfront and ongoing cost savings and carbon emissions reduction for customers.

SNRG was formed in 2018 with backing from Centrica, a leading energy services and solutions provider, and Centrica will retain a stake in the Company. SNRG has a high-quality management team that has significant experience in scaling up businesses within the energy and technology space. SNRG has established strong relationships within the developer community as well as expertise in delivering software and infrastructure solutions.

Shane Hussain, SNRG CEO stated: “As the all-electric, zero-carbon transition gathers pace in the domestic and non-domestic building sectors, customers are seeking next generation infrastructure solutions. Antin’s investment in SNRG along with Centrica’s continuing involvement will allow us to scale rapidly and meet the demand that is being driven by policy and society. We look forward to delivering low and zero carbon buildings throughout the UK.”

Anand Jagannathan, Antin NextGen Senior Partner commented: “With its first project implemented and a proven concept looking to be rolled out, we felt SNRG was the right company to launch our NextGen strategy with, as it focuses on value-added investing in sustainable, scalable and connected assets. We are excited at the opportunity to support SNRG in achieving the next phase of its growth, through the build-out of a significant, identified pipeline of projects procured through its relationships with major developers.”

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close in April of 2022.

White and Case and Gowling WLG acted as legal advisors to Antin. Osborne Clarke acted as legal advisors to SNRG and Freeths LLP acted as legal advisor to Centrica.

 

About SNRG

SNRG is a developer, installer and operator of smart grid networks in the UK. The Company was formed in 2018 with backing from Centrica with a mission to provide decarbonisation solutions to homes as well as industrial and commercial customers. The Company’s innovative solution delivers savings to customers on their energy bills in addition to decarbonising their energy consumption. SNRG today has an initial live project in Corby, UK which has been successfully demonstrating the business model of delivering savings to residents whilst also providing low-carbon energy.

About Antin Infrastructure Partners

Antin Infrastructure Partners is a leading private equity firm focused on infrastructure. With over €22.7 billion in assets under management across its Flagship, Mid Cap and NextGen investment strategies, Antin targets investments in the energy and environment, telecom, transport and social infrastructure sectors. With offices in Paris, London, New York, Singapore and Luxembourg, Antin employs over 165 professionals dedicated to growing, improving and transforming infrastructure businesses while delivering long-term value to portfolio companies and investors. Majority owned by its partners, Antin is listed on Euronext Paris (Ticker: ANTIN – ISIN: FR0014005AL0).

 

Media Contacts

Antin Infrastructure Partners

Nicolle Graugnard, Communication Director

Email: nicolle.graugnard@antin-ip.com

 

Ludmilla Binet, Head of Shareholder Relations

Email: shareholderrelations@antin-ip.com

 

Brunswick

Email: antinip@brunswickgroup.com

Tristan Roquet Montegon +33 (0) 6 37 00 52 57

Gabriel Jabès +33 (0) 6 40 87 08 14

Categories: News

Beamy raises US$9 million to govern the explosion of Saas in companies

Beamy, a European pioneer in SaaS management for large companies, has raised more than 9 million dollars in Series A funding. This funding round was led by the ISAI, Aglaé Venturesand Evolem funds, as well as business angels Nicolas Hernandez (360 Learning) and Erwan Keraudy (CybelAngel). The solution has already attracted notable customers including LVMH, Decathlon, Orange, Engie and BNP Paribas to provide a framework for governing the decentralisation and implementation of their SaaS tools across their businesses.

Becoming aware of the explosion of SaaS in business is vital.

Beamy, a scale-up featured in “Future 40” of STATION F, offers companies a unique solution that can detect and control the explosion of SaaS applications used in a decentralised way. The platform thus helps CIOs and other IT leaders to control this parallel IT/digitalisation and strengthen their employees’ technological autonomy while preserving corporate governance.

The days of cumbersome and complex software suites being solely implemented and managed by IT departments are over. For years, SaaS has been exploding uncontrollably in large companies, creating underground digitalization.

In companies with more than 1,000 employees, there are on average several hundred different SaaS solutions in use, representing several million dollars in annual costs. According to a recent study by KPMG, the SaaS budget of companies is set to increase by 90% in the next 10 years, covering several thousand different solutions. A new IT paradigm is emerging.

However, this massive adoption of SaaS is largely outside of the IT department’s control, which leads to a considerable underestimation of the real volume of SaaS applications already used by the business lines. Consequently, these companies become highly vulnerable to the risks of cyber attacks: each uncontrolled SaaS application represents a potential security breach. Finally, SaaS budgets, representing an ever-increasing share of corporate IT, are largely under-optimized. Many SaaS solutions cover the same uses and are thus redundant, while others are underused or even completely unused.

“In general, when we meet a CIO of a large company, they estimate that their organization uses 30 to 40 SaaS tools. However, when we begin working together, our technology detects several hundred active SaaS solutions, often revealing more than 75% of shadow IT,” explains Beamy CEO and co-founder Andréa Jacquemin.

The need to build a framework of technological autonomy for all professionals

There is a change in the way large enterprises procure, implement, use and manage SaaS software applications. It’s more than just an IT phenomenon – the explosion of SaaS has introduced a real change in business organisation:

“The top down vision of IT is over. We are witnessing a true decentralization of technological ownership and empowerment of business units, which are selecting and implementing their own solution,” explains Andrea Jacquemin.

Accepting this trend means allowing employees who consider technology to be vital to the completion of their activities, to be engaged and become the primary actors in their IT landscapes.

“The decentralisation framework must be compatible with the technological autonomy granted. This is a story of balance. If we put too many constraints on employees’ ability to choose their applications and implement lengthy processes, they will still use the applications but won’t go through the proper channels with IT in the implementation,” explained Andrea Jacquemin. “Without a solid structure of decentralisation, the risks will be considerably increased and the budgets won’t be optimised. In any situation, you have to find the proper balance in terms of autonomy that works for your workforce, but keeping the status quo on this subject is the worst solution.”

For this, Beamy has developed powerful scoring algorithms capable of detecting all of the SaaS applications actually implemented in the company. Beamy is then able to follow the evolution of each application over time, provide employees with a catalog of all applications implemented in the company, define an autonomy matrix according to the potential risks of future applications, and navigate an app store of more than 50,000 applications on the market.

Beamy thus guarantees a global approach to SaaS governance necessary to support large companies in the long term to structure their IT decentralisation and establishing synergy between all stakeholders (CEOs, CIOs/other IT leaders, and business teams).

Beamy wants to accelerate its international expansion

With an impressive end to 2021, this fundraising will allow the company to accelerate its international development (Beamy already being present in France and the United Kingdom on the international market), to create global leadership, and to strengthen customer relations by supporting them in their long-term governance efforts. “We are convinced that SaaS issues are major issues for large companies, whether French or international. With this fundraising from major investors including Agaé Ventures and Isai, both of whom are recognized for offering cutting edge expertise in the tech sector, we are setting out to conquer the international market,” explains Andrea Jacquemin.

To do this, Beamy plans to focus its investments on two major areas: recruitment, with plans to hire 40 more team members in the next twelve months, and product development, with the strengthening of detection technology and decentralisation workflows to further streamline collaboration between IT and business lines in the implementation and management of new SaaS solutions.

“As investors, we are familiar with the SaaS model and the benefits that users and business departments can derive from it. For large companies, mastering this deployment, which is often in the ‘shadows’, represents a real challenge,” said Jean-David Chambordeon, CEO of ISAI. “The vision of Beamy’s founders to identify, rationalize, unify, and allow the security of this B2B SaaS stack within organizations quickly convinced us. The excellent customer feedback we have been able to collect shows that Beamy is in the process of becoming the reference platform in this field.”

“Beamy provides an exhaustive view of SaaS tools and provides a governance platform with a real return on investment,” said Léa Verdillon of Aglaé Ventures. “The great feedback we’ve heard from customers convinced us that Andréa and Edouard formed the right team to develop Beamy. The international ambition that drives them is in perfect harmony with the fast-growing market, particularly in the United States, which is one of our areas of investment.”

Press contact
beamy@lagencerp.com
Lucille Lavigne – 06 98 62 07 92
Mélina Dahmane – 06 58 94 47 82

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