EQT’s Mid Market US fund closes with commitments of USD 726 million
A growth buyout investment strategy involving transformation of good companies, within the US middle-market segment, into stronger, more sustainable businesses
EQT firmly established in the US with three investment strategies – Infrastructure, Equity and Mid Market

EQT today announces that its first US-dedicated fund, EQT Mid Market US, has been closed with commitments of USD 726 million. The closing date was September 30, 2016.

The EQT Mid Market US fund applies a growth buyout investment strategy which involves developing and transforming good companies into stronger, more sustainable businesses. The fund will make control and co-control investments in high-quality companies operating in sectors with strong underlying growth trends. The fund will also leverage EQT’s network of over 250 Industrial Advisors and apply the firm’s proven governance model and alignment principles to help support portfolio company growth.

Two acquisitions have already been made in the US by the fund; FocusVision (global leader in technology-enabled services in the marketing research and intelligence market) and XP Solutions (world leading provider of industry standard sustainable drainage and flood hazard software for the civil engineering and environmental sectors). The fund continues to experience a rich and robust deal flow and pipeline.

The fund is backed by notable, blue-chip investors in North America and Europe including pension funds, insurance companies and fund-of-funds, among other institutions.

The fund closing grows EQT’s footprint in the US with investment advisory teams across three investment strategies – Infrastructure (which was the first EQT strategy in the US, established in 2008), Equity and Mid Market. The Mid Market US investment advisory team comprises 10 professionals, including Matthew Levine and Brendan Scollans as local US Partners. The team is dedicated to the investment strategy and based in New York, with both local and global experience of middle market transactions across sectors.

“The closing of a US-dedicated fund is a milestone in the overall expansion of EQT, being an integrated alternative investment firm with multiple investment strategies globally. We believe EQT’s value-add industrial approach, clear corporate governance model and global platform is distinctive in the US middle market and we believe EQT offers mid market businesses more than traditional private equity firms can offer,” says Jan Ståhlberg, Head of Mid Market US and Deputy Managing Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to the EQT Mid Market US fund.

The fundraising for the EQT Mid Market fund has now closed. Accordingly, the foregoing should in no way be treated as any form of offer or solicitation to subscribe for or make any commitments for or in respect of any securities or other interests or to engage in any other transaction.

Contacts:
Jan Ståhlberg, Head of Mid Market US and Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to the EQT Mid Market fund, + 1 917 281 0849
Kerstin Danasten, EQT Press Contact, +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT
EQT is a leading global private equity group with approximately EUR 30 billion in raised capital. EQT Funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 15 billion and approximately 100,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

About EQT Mid Market US
EQT Mid Market US is a USD 726 million fund which will target control and co-control equity investments in companies with strong market positions, significant potential for revenue and earnings growth, strong cash flows and a solid platform that can retain and attract high-quality management. EQT Mid Market US will seek to make equity investments typically ranging between USD 35 million and USD 140 million. The geographical focus will be North America and within the following six sectors – Industrials, Consumer Goods & Retail, Services, TMT, Energy & Environment, and Healthcare.

More info: www.eqtpartners.com

IK Investment Partners (“IK”) is pleased to announce that the IK Small Cap I Fund has reached an agreement to acquire APOSAN Dr. Künzer GmbH (“APOSAN” or “the Company”), a leading pharmaceutical homecare company in Germany. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

APOSAN was founded in 1991 by Dr. Clemens Künzer, with the purpose to service homecare patients through the compounding of individualised infusible and injectable medication. Since then, the company has evolved to an integrated full-range pharmaceutical homecare supplier with its own manufacturing capacities and a dedicated key account management and homecare nurses team to generate and support its growing nationwide patient base. The APOSAN group of companies is organised in three main business segments: pharmaceutical homecare, providing services to patients that require long-term infusion to diseases; classical homecare, providing standard enteral nutrition solutions as well as selected standard medical devices; and ophthalmic injectables. Founder Dr. Clemens Künzer will retain a substantial shareholding in the Company. The broad and experienced management team led going forward by Rainer Schmitz as CEO, Michael Schmitz as CSO and Claudia Vitiello as COO will also become shareholders and invest alongside Dr. Künzer and IK. APOSAN is headquartered in Cologne, Germany, and serves over 10,000 patients per year.

04-10-2016 07:30

Gimv acquires a c. 60% stake in Acceo next to founder/CEO Stéphane Doré and management. Acceo is an independent French provider of inspection and certification services for buildings, with a focus on areas requiring specialist expertise such as elevator inspections, regulated accessibility audits and energy efficiency audits. Over the coming years, Acceo will be focusing on further profitable growth in France, penetrating new geographical markets and expanding into new business lines.

Founded in 2003, Acceo (www.acceo.eu) is an independent player active in elevator inspection and monitoring services, regulated accessibility audits and energy efficiency audits. The group also has a center of excellence for vertical transportation providing advice for elevator design in new and existing buildings. Its clients are property owners in the commercial or administrative sector (e.g. Unibail Rodamco, BNP, Allianz, EDF, Casino), municipalities or regional authorities, schools and universities, hospitals, social sector organizations, as well as property managers (e.g. Foncia, Citya, Nexity, Square Habitat). Headquartered in Gémenos near Marseille, Acceo operates a commercial network of 17 independently-managed agencies in France, Belgium and Spain. Over the years, the company was able to grow its revenues to EUR 18.4 million in 2015, driven by increasing regulatory requirements for buildings in the areas of safety, accessibility and sustainability. The ambition is to double the company’s size over five years by (i) strengthening its position in France, (ii) further geographical expansion, initially in Belgium and Spain, and (iii) expanding into adjacent services.

Gimv takes a c. 60% stake in the company by acquiring shares previously owned by Ekkio Capital (40%) and by providing partial liquidity to the founder and management.

Thomas Dewever, Partner in Gimv’s Sustainable Cities platform: “Property owners and managers are increasingly confronted with complex technical and administrative requirements to comply with safety and sustainability regulations. Acceo offers independent advice and specialist expertise to deal with these obligations and shoulder the burden for the customers. The company’s professionalism and proximity to its customers has resulted in strong customer loyalty and impressive growth. We are very happy to partner with an ambitious and entrepreneurial management team to build on this track record and continue Acceo’s growth in France and adjacent markets.”

Stéphane Doré, CEO and Founder of Acceo: “We are very happy to have Gimv on board as a partner for this new phase in our development. We have ambitious plans to continue to grow our business in France and abroad. Gimv’s track record as a growth investor together with its European dimension will help us achieve these ambitions over the coming years.”

CapMan Nordic Real Estate fund has agreed to sell Bergshamra Bro in Solna, Northern Stockholm, to Solnaberg Property AB (publ), a company established by Catella. The price is SEK 858 million.

Bergshamra Bro is a 31,325 square-meter office building in a highly visible location spanning over and alongside the E18 road in Stockholm. The property consists of four interconnecting office buildings and its main tenant is ‘if’ P&C insurance.

“We are very happy to have reached our objective of introducing new long term tenants to the property alongside ‘if’ in order to create full occupancy and a more institutional product. In addition, we are retaining a large piece of land with surface parking on which we are currently working on changing the zoning plan to develop some building rights,” comments Ed Williams, Senior Partner at CapMan Real Estate.

“The strong demand from both private and institutional investors and attractive financing received by the buyer Solnaberg Property AB (publ) underlines CapMan’s very impressive development of the property into a more core product” says Martin Malhotra, the responsible Project Manager at Catella.

CapMan Nordic Real Estate fund invested in Bergshamra Bro in 2014 and this transaction is the fifth exit of the fund. The focus of the €273 million fund is to acquire mainly office, retail and residential properties located in established submarkets of major Nordic cities. The fund was established in 2013.